


INTERIOR DECORATION 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY ■ CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



Interior Decoration 



FOR THE SMALL HOME 



BY 



AMY L. ROLFE, M.A. 

INSTRUCTOR OF HOME ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY 
OF MONTANA 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1917 

All rights reserved 



UK* 1 ,- 



Copyright, 1917, 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 

Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1917. 




MAR 22 1917 



Norfoooo i^regB 

J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



GU455983 

v 



TO MY FATHER 



PREFACE 

It has been the purpose to bring together in 
this book the chief principles of art as they may 
be applied to the furnishing of homes of people 
of moderate means. Many volumes have been 
written upon the subject of house furnishing 
which describe in great detail the expensive furni- 
ture, rugs, and tapestries which can be purchased 
only by those few individuals who are also finan- 
cially able to employ professional interior deco- 
rators and who for that reason have less need for 
a simple guide. It is the people who must make 
their own selections of furnishings and plan their 
arrangement who especially require some economic 
and artistic knowledge on the subject, so that they 
may obtain the greatest amount of beauty and 
convenience for the least expenditure. If they 
understand color and form harmony in the essen- 
tial relation to artistic unity, they should then have 
sufficient confidence to express some of their own 
individuality in their homes as they endeavor to 



viii PREFACE 

combine the ideal with the practical. Beauty and 
suitability will by this means be the result of a 
conscious obedience to the laws of art. 

The author gratefully acknowledges the help- 
ful criticism of Miss Anna Cooley of Columbia 
University. 

AMY L. ROLFE. 

Bozeman, Mont., 

February, 191 7. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Introduction xvii 

The Difference between House and Home — The 
Homemaker as Interior Decorator. 

CHAPTER I 

Walls and Ceilings i 

The Treatment of Walls and Ceilings regarding 
Color, Value, Subordination — Choice and Arrange- 
ment of Wall Decorations. 

CHAPTER II 

Windows and Their Decorative Treatment . .12 
The Use of Curtains as a Decorative Medium — 
Colors — Values — Textures — Cost. 

CHAPTER III 

The Finishing of Floors 31 

The Treatment of Wood Floors, Old and New — 
The Use of Linoleum, Tiles, and Cement for Floor 
Coverings. 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER IV 

PAGE 

Domestic Rugs and Carpets 38 

The Treatment of Floors regarding Color, Value, 
Subordination — Different Varieties of Domestic Make 
and their Relative Cost. 

CHAPTER V 

Oriental Rugs 50 

The /Esthetic Appeal of the Oriental Rug — The 
Four Principal Classes and Some Subdivisions — Risks 
Encountered in Purchasing. 

CHAPTER VI 

A Brief History of Furniture 61 

The Home of {[Ancient and Medieval Times and Its 
Furniture — The Renaissance — Period Styles of Fur- 
niture — The Modern Reawakening. 

CHAPTER VII 

Modern Period Furniture and Its Use . . .81 
Types of the Antiques which are Reproduced — 
Consistent Use of Period Styles in the Various Rooms 
of the Home — Bisymmetric and Occult Balance — 
Comfort. 

CHAPTER VIII 

Furniture of Modern Design 100 

A Reflection of the Spirit of To-day — Different 
Styles which may be Purchased and Their Use in the 
Home — Rugs, Upholstery, and Wall Coverings which 
Harmonize. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS XI 

CHAPTER IX 

FAGE 

Furniture Woods 108 

Mahogany — Oak — Ash — Red Gum — Walnut — 
Maple — Beech — Birch — Rosewood — Veneered 
Furniture. 

CHAPTER X 

The Fireplace in the Home 117 

Esthetic Value — Historical Significance — Period 
Styles — Arrangement of Furniture about Fireplace — 
Materials. 

CHAPTER XI 

Artificial Lighting 127 

The Importance of Artificial Light as a Part of a 
Scheme of Interior Decoration — A Brief History — 
Period Styles, Arrangement — Colors and Materials of 
Shades. 

Conclusion 138 

Interior Decoration as Art — How Knowledge of the 
Subject may be Gained — Suitability of Each Room 
and of the House as a Whole to Its Use — Sincerity in 
the Outward Expression of the Owner's Personality. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

A charming but dignified entrance hall. The antique 
Chinese rugs harmonize well with the Chippendale 
wing chair and with the t Chinese Chippendale 
table Frontispiece * 

FACING PAGE 

Paneled walls give a dignity to this dining room which 
could have been obtained by no other means. The 
furniture is of the William and Mary period . 6 

Reproductions of well-known masterpieces are inexpen- 
sive and effective as wall decorations. The furni- 
ture is of the Queen Anne period . . . . 7 

The height of this Sheraton dining-room is emphasized 
by the use of narrow, straight window hangings 
without a valance 20 

The arrangement of the sheer muslin curtains seemingly 
lowers the height of this Colonial room. The de- 
sign of the sofa is American Empire ... 21 

The dark stain of the floor of this living-room makes a 
pleasing background for the furnishings — a Wil- 
liam and Mary high-boy, Windsor and Hepplewhite 
shield-back chairs, and a gate-leg table ... 34 

Tiles make the ideal floor for the kitchen . . 35 

This plain rug with banded border makes an excellent 

background for the William and Mary furniture . 42 

Finely figured domestic rugs are well suited for use in 
entrance halls. The armchair is of the period of 

Charles II 43 

xiii 



xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

Persian prayer rug, 16th century . . . • 5 2 

Turkoman rug S 2 

Chinese rug, camel's hair, 18th century . . 53 ' 

Caucasian rug, 18th century 53 s 

A handsome Chippendale secretary, chair, and table . 74 ^ 
A Sheraton secretary and a reed-bottomed chair of early 

Colonial days 75 

A part of a Chippendale dining-room. Chinese influence 

is plainly shown in the detail of ornament . . 76 
A Hepplewhite dining-room which is restful in its sim- 
plicity 77 

Attractive dining-room furniture of the Adam style. 
The arrangement shows the use of bisymmetric 

balance 86 

An example of occult balance. The group formed by 
the Chippendale wing chair and the Jacobean table 
and chair balances the piano at the other side of the 

room 87 

The furniture in this living room centers about the fire- 
place. The stool in the foreground is of the William 
and Mary period and the table possesses Adam and 

Hepplewhite characteristics 90 

The single-toned rug in this Colonial living-room is well 
subordinated in color and tone to the rest of the fur- 
nishings. The informal use of bisymmetric balance 

is especially worthy of note 91 

This playroom is large, light, airy, and simply furnished, 
but the rocker has arms with dangerously sharp 

elbows 102 

A " baby pen " with Chinese counters that would afford 
endless amusement, and a hobby-horse that looks 

as sportive as he is safe 103 

A charming cottage living-room in which wicker furni- 
ture predominates 106 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XV 

FACING PAGE 

Wicker, reed, or grass furniture is especially well suited 

for use on the porch or in the sun parlor . . 107 

The dull polish which the Puritans gave to their furni- 
ture brought out the beautiful grain of the wood . no 

The reproductions of Colonial furniture have broad, un- 

ornamented spaces which show the fine finish . in 

A classic fireplace of unusual beauty which harmonizes 

well with the Georgian furniture . . . .120 

No living-room is complete without a fireplace about 

which the furniture may be centered . . .121 

Lighting fixtures may follow the styles of the various 

types of period furniture 132 

Where side lights are used as ornamental fixtures no 
pictures are needed upon the walls. The furniture 
is a modern design patterned after Sheraton . 133 

This dining-room suggests at once the personality of its 
owner. The same material is used for the chair 
coverings and the side hangings at the windows, to 
give touches of intense color 144 

A charming guest room in a country home which is suffi- 
ciently impersonal to suit change of guests. The 
furniture is of the William and Mary design . .145 



INTRODUCTION 

The Difference Between House and Home — The Home- 
maker as Interior Decorator. 

There is an especial meaning attached to 
the term "home" which is entirely distinctive. 
The humblest cottage may be a home House or 
— the most beautiful mansion may Home? 
be merely a work of decorative art. Almost 
every one interested in home furnishing has 
walked through the model apartments of 
some large furnishing house and has had the 
inevitable experience of disappointment. The 
rooms may be well planned, the windows 
properly placed, the walls and floors satis- 
factorily finished, and the furniture of the 
most correct and graceful lines, but still 
there remained a feeling of emptiness of 
meaning, a lack of the home atmosphere. 
It was impossible to forget that the rooms 
were exhibition rooms only. 



xviii INTRODUCTION 

A series of such model rooms could never 
be mistaken for a home for the reason that 
the personal, the human element, is 
ing of the lacking. A house, to be a home, 
J t eTm n must be adapted to some individual 
or individuals composing a family 
group. It must contain only that which 
is useful and suitable to its daily occupants 
and should reflect their physical, mental, 
and spiritual activities. If the man of the 
family is fond of books and of study, there 
should be a well-chosen library in the house, 
but if he is more interested in games and out- 
of-door sports, that room which might have 
been admirable as a library might better 
be put to other uses more suited to an athletic 
taste. An unused music room is the most 
dismal of places and is reminiscent of ances- 
tral parlors opened only upon the state occa- 
sion of funeral or wedding. 

So, in furnishing a home, there should 
be nothing placed within the four walls 
Suitability wn i cn ls not useful and suitable 
in Fur- to the people who shall live there, 
mshings That ; s f tne fi rst importance. But 

at the same time there should be a constant 
thought and a constant care to keep a feeling 



INTRODUCTION xix 

of harmony between each and all of the 
features of the home. The interior of a 
cottage or a mansion may be useful and 
may be suitable, and may have a true home 
atmosphere, but it may still be very unbeau- 
tiful. 

Many home builders of more than moder- 
ate means secure the services of an expert 
interior decorator who works with _. 
the master and mistress of the house, Amateur 
advising, correcting, and often taking j^"*. e 
complete charge of the finishing of sionai 
the walls and floors and the buying 
of the furniture, hangings, and rugs. To 
the people possessed of more slender purses, 
however, the services of such an artist are 
out of the question, and in some cases this 
may be a blessing. There is a joy in the 
proper assembling of those household fur- 
nishings, usually for a lifetime, which is unique. 
If each chair and table is carefully selected 
to fill some especial need, if it is repeatedly 
considered in relation to its harmony with 
neighboring pieces of furniture in the partic- 
ular room where it shall be placed, if it is 
wished for, saved for, and finally purchased, 
there is a joy in possession through effort 



xx INTRODUCTION 

which makes that table or chair, in its new 
setting, at once a comfortable friend. The 
employer of an interior decorator may admire 
the harmonious interior of his new home 
immensely, but it is some months before he 
can really love the individual pieces of furni- 
ture. They may be beautiful and adapted 
to his personality and use, but there is no 
way to buy their friendship. The daily 

association, alone, can bring that, 
of Art The man who wishes to act as 

Principles n i s own interior decorator must first 

is Essential , , 1 1 r 1 

study the general rules 01 art and 
apply them to his problem. The principles 
of balance, harmony, and rhythm are as 
applicable to the plans of a room or a house 
as they are to the plan of a picture. 



INTERIOR DECORATION 



INTERIOR DECORATION 

CHAPTER I 

WALLS AND CEILINGS 

The Treatment of Walls and Ceilings regarding Color, 
Value, Subordination, — Choice and Arrangement 
of Wall Decorations. 

Fortunate indeed is he who has the privi- 
lege of building his home after individ- 
ual plans suited to his own uses „„ xt _ 

i .-r.1 r 1 When the 

and tastes. Then, after the site House is 
and style have been determined, a w 
general plan of the interior can be easily 
and pleasantly evolved. Often the architect 
is also an interior decorator of no little abil- 
ity, and he can safely be allowed to suggest 
a harmonious scheme for walls, ceilings, and 
furniture. 

However, the pleasure of planning and 
building is vouchsafed to a comparative few. 
The usual person must live in house or apart- 



2 INTERIOR DECORATION 

ment originally designed for another, or, worse, 

designed for any possible renter. He must 

often adjust himself to an environment 

House has foreign to his nature and make his 

been built home within walls at variance with 

by Another , . . , , _. . . , .. 

his ideals. Ihis is no easy task and 

yet every home maker can control, to a cer- 
tain extent, the finish of the walls and ceilings, 
and the furnishings of the rooms wherein he 
dwells, and make them speak of his personal- 
ity and the personality of his family. 

Much can be accomplished by refinishing 

the woodwork and doing over the walls and 

ceilings. If the problem is a rented 

which can house or apartment, the landlord may 

be made nQt ^ e w jji; n g to ma ke changes, but 

can usually be persuaded to allow the tenant 
to redecorate at his own expense. Such 
expense may be made very slight by using 
the proper materials, and there is nothing 
so necessary in good interior decorating as 
well-toned woodwork, walls, and ceiling. A 
well-furnished room makes a beautiful pic- 
ture, and a beautiful picture must have a 
beautiful background. 

The dominant color used in a room, and 
the contrasting and combined effects of other 



WALLS AND CEILINGS 3 

shades employed, are of the greatest impor- 
tance. Although physiologists have long 
known that colors affect the temper- 
ament in different ways, many people 
fail to profit by this when they select colors 
for their home. Rooms should be decorated 
in colors appropriate to their use, but also 
to the feelings and actions of the occupant. 
Where contrast is used, it should be agree- 
able and interesting. Where there is no 
contrast, one tone should melt softly into 
another, making a completed color scheme. 

A dark woodwork with a light wall is not 
usually agreeable. A fairly light wall is 
often desirable, so, for this reason, 
the woodwork should be finished in 
a medium shade, or enameled white or ivory. 
Ivory is especially suited to the bedrooms 
and, in a colonial home, is admirable in the 
living and dining rooms. It is well to adhere 
to the plan of finishing the standing wood- 
work in adjoining rooms in the same color, 
or varying shades of the same color. The 
walls, too, of the different rooms should show 
no crude contrast, but should harmonize well, 
and the ceiling color should show a tone 
slightly lighter than that of the side wall. 



4 INTERIOR DECORATION 

If the home is an apartment or a small 
cottage, it will usually be found well to have 
the same tone of woodwork and the 
fected by same tone of wall in all the adjoining 
Color and rooms. A surprising impression of 
additional space can be effected in 
this way. If, on the other hand, the rooms 
are overlarge and cold in character, the 
best plan is to finish the standing woodwork 
in a darker tone, and place a more deep value 
upon the side walls. 

Architecturally, the proportions of a room 
must be good in order to give a proper back- 
ground for the beauties of the fore- 
tionsof ground. If the ceilings are too low, 

Roomap- additional height may seemingly be 
Patently . & . ' . & * 

effected by gained by placing the picture mold- 

ArcWtec- 11 m & at t ' ie verv to P °f tne s *de wall, or 
turalDe- even, at times, bringing the tone of 
the side wall six inches over on to the 
ceiling, terminated there by a molding. 
If, on the other hand, the ceilings are too 
high for the size of the room, the picture 
molding should be placed at a distance of 
a third of the side wall from the ceiling, and 
the tone of the ceiling brought down to the 
molding. 



WALLS AND CEILINGS 5 

Tones of cream and brown, gray, and occa- 
sionally green, are usually best for the hall, 
living and dining rooms. Cream suitability 
and brown belong to the warm colors of Particu- 
and should be used on the north side to individ- 
of the house or where there is little "^ Rooms 
sunshine. Gray is a cold color and is often 
admirable in a well-lighted, sunny room, 
containing vivid hangings, upholstery, or 
tapestry. Green, as a wall tone, should be 
carefully considered before it is used. Un- 
informed or unscrupulous merchants some- 
times sell wall papers and stains containing 
a dangerously large quantity of arsenic. 
For this reason it is well to have a green wall 
finish tested by a reliable chemist before it 
is used. As a wall color it is restful and is 
adapted to use in a well-lighted library or 
living room. In the bedrooms light walls 
should always be used. A bedroom should 
be dainty, and only light colors are dainty. 
A soft blue tone may be used only on the 
south side of the house, for blue is a cold 
color, almost colder than gray, and is apt 
to give a gloomy effect to a room with a 
northern exposure. If you have a dark, 
dismal room, use a pale yellow tone for the 



6 INTERIOR DECORATION 

walls. You will be surprised at the effect 

of sunlight. 

The whole trend of present-day decora- 

tionlis toward the psychological use of color. 

_ . . Instead of the vivid, figured wall 
Psychologi- , \ 

caiUseof papers, plain painted or papered 
or walls which are restful are now used. 

What sick person has not feverishly counted 
and recounted the dancing stripes and fig- 
ures on walls and ceilings, and longed for a 
single flat tone of color to rest his tired eyes. 
But equally important is the artistic side. 
As the wall is the background for the room, 
it must be quiet and stay back in its proper 
perspective. Flat tone, washable wall paints 
are now on the market and are cheap and 
satisfactory. Good ingrain, oatmeal, and bur- 
lap paper are also to be had, at about the 
same cost, but of course are not as sanitary 
as washable tints. 

Wood-paneled rooms are very beautiful 
and are seen far too seldom. While they 
Paneled are of course more expensive, there 
Walls is still a richness given by a high 

wainscoting and a beamed ceiling which 
may compensate for the extra cost. Com- 
paratively inexpensive building materials can 



WALLS AND CEILINGS 7 

be selected and satisfactorily stained, thus 
eliminating much expense. A paneled wall 
in natural color wood adds dignity to a library 
or dining room, while even a bedroom is 
charming with ivory panels. If pictures are 
desired on the walls of a paneled room, they 
should be unframed and merely fitted into 
the panels of the wainscoting with a narrow 
molding matching the woodwork. A formal 
arrangement is most pleasing. One charm- 
ing bedroom which I saw recently had the 
entire side walls paneled in deep ivory. On 
either side of a slender, built-in dressing table 
a long panel was fitted with a soft mural 
painting, done in oil on canvas. I have also 
seen similar effects by the use of good repro- 
ductions in lithographs, shellacked after fitting 
in the panels. 

An equally formal and artistic arrangement 
of pictures may be carried out in the simpler 
homes where the walls are painted 

1 . , . T T Pictures as 

or papered in a plain tone. Un- Formal 
framed pictures for each room are ^ ecora - 
carefully selected. Then a narrow 
molding is secured and painted or stained 
to exactly match the woodwork of the room 
or rooms in which it is to be used. The fin- 



8 INTERIOR DECORATION 

ished molding should then be taken to a 
cabinet maker to be used as frames for the 
selected pictures. These pictures should have 
no mats and should be hung flat on the wall 
with screws and eyes. 

When no formal effect is desired and where 
there is a variety in the style and framing 
of the pictures, there are several gen- 
Hanging eral rules which it is well to follow. 
of Pictures j n t j ie mam? pictures should be hung 

on a level with the eye, so they can be in- 
spected with comfort. Scenes showing great 
altitude, such as of mountains, or pictures 
claiming adoration, as the Madonnas, may, 
however, be placed above the level of the 
eye. There should be no pictures hung in 
the hall and only formal pictures in the 
dining room. Ancestral portraits and old 
prints of historical scenes are suitable for 
the library, while etchings, sepia prints, and 
color photogravures are charming in the liv- 
ing room. Framed photographs of family 
and friends should be reserved for the bed- 
rooms, if it is wished to see them on the walls 
at all. The casual caller has little or no 
interest in them. 

Original paintings to adorn the home should 



WALLS AND CEILINGS 9 

not be purchased unless the purse and artis- 
tic knowledge of the buyer are sufficiently 
large to insure true works of art. choice of 
Reproductions of recognized master- Ptoses 
pieces are always safe and may be obtained 
at very reasonable prices. Millet, Co rot, 
and Jacques, who idealized the life and home 
of the French peasants, Whistler in his 
works in black and white, Abbey, Sargent, 
Kenyon Cox, and many other great painters 
have given us pictures which are now beauti- 
fully copied and which we can all enjoy. 
Prints of the ruins of the Greek Parthenon 
or Temple of Athena, the Roman Forum 
and Colosseum, are also interesting. For 
informal breakfast rooms and for bedrooms 
soft Japanese prints are excellent. 

The size and character of the picture, the 
size of the wall space, and the character 
of the other pictures to be placed on Group Ar- 
the same wall determine the group rangement 
arrangement of the hanging. Large pictures 
should be hung alone on a wall space. Small 
pictures should be grouped together, with- 
out any attempt at symmetry. Heavy pic- 
tures only should be suspended from the 
picture molding, and then by two parallel 



10 INTERIOR DECORATION 

wires, from two hooks. One hook should 

never be used, as the angle formed by the 

single wire is unrelated to the straight lines 

of the wall and picture frame. 

Occasionally the fortunate home maker 

possesses a piece of fine tapestry. Nothing 

Ancient could be more beautiful hung upon 

Needle- the wall of the living room, if the 

work used 

as Wall colors blend well with the furnishings. 

Decoration Qld samplers may be framed for pro- 
tection and hung in the hall above the card 
table. 

The lack of culture and refinement in the 
occupants of a household is more often re- 
importance vea ^ e< ^ m poor choice of pictures and 
of Careful wall decorations than in any other 
way. As careful attention should 
be given to this phase of furnishing as to the 
items more usually considered important. 

REFERENCES 
De Wolfe, Elsie 
The House in Good Taste. 

The Century Company, New York, 1913. 
Walls, Chapter V. 
Duveen, Edward J. 
Colour in the Home. 

George Allen & Co., London. 
Decoration, Chapter VI. 



WALLS AND CEILINGS II 

Herts, B. Russell 
The Decoration and Furnishing of Apartments. 
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1915. 
Backgrounds, Part I, Chapter IV. 
Parsons, Frank Alvah 

Interior Decoration, Its Principles and Practice. 

Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, N. Y., 191 5. 
Pictures, pp. 251-259. 
Hanging, pp. 259-263. 
Sparrow, W. Shaw 

Hints on House Furnishing. 

John Lane Company, New York, 1909. 
Wails, Chapters I, II. 



CHAPTER II 

WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 

The Use of Curtains as a Decorative Medium — Colors 
— Values — Textures — Cost. 

The windows of a room, together with their 

hangings, constitute a very important item 

The Need hi the general scheme of interior 

of Curtains decoration. Most windows should, 

of course, be curtained in some way to insure 

privacy, to soften the light, and to add to 

beauty. There is no one feature of house 

furnishing which as quickly tends to give 

a home-like atmosphere as proper curtains 

and draperies at the windows. A room 

which has looked bleak and bare seems to 

become livable, at once, when some suitable, 

thin fabric is hung at the windows. 

A well-tested theory in connection with 

„ . . curtains is that, in the decorative 
Curtains 

used as a scheme of the room in which they are 

?^ r ^° mz " placed, the curtains form the transi- 

dium in a tion between the walls and ceilings 

and the furniture. In painting a 

12 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 1 3 

picture three values must always be consid- 
ered, the foreground, the middle distance, 
and the background. Each has its own 
place, yet there must be a pleasing transition 
from one value to another. If the age-old 
art principles of unity, harmony, and rhythm 
are observed, there is a complete continuity 
in progression from foreground to background. 
A beautiful room is a picture, so, the furni- 
ture, being the most important feature, should 
be conspicuous as foreground, the curtains as 
middle distance, and the walls and ceiling as 
background. The furniture of a room should 
be strong in line and tone, and the walls should 
be reticent and delicate in color. The curtains, 
then, must be the harmonizing link between, 
giving a final touch of beauty and grace. 

Few home makers realize that the shape, 
size, and method of hanging the 
draperies of a window often seem to tectural 
alter the entire architectural struc- structure 

- . , r . of Room 

ture of the room, and even 01 the andWin- 
window opening itself. If a room is f^^' h 
low ceiled, an effect of greater height Method of 
may be gained by using narrow Curtains 
side hangings at the windows, 
falling in straight lines from the rods at the 



14 INTERIOR DECORATION 

very top of the window to a distance of two 
feet below the window sill. If the material 
of these side hangings is heavy and rich, 
these strips may be made as narrow as eight- 
een inches, without a sacrifice of dignity. 
No blinds should be used with these side 
hangings, but soft, straight curtains of some 
sheer material are used inside, next to the 
glass. Side hangings may also be used in 
a room which is unfortunately too high in 
ceiling. In this case the hangings should be 
broader and should extend only from the, 
lower edge of the woodwork at the top of 
the window, down to the window sill. Across 
the top a rather deep valance should be 
placed. When the thin inner curtains are 
draped back, the slanting lines so formed, 
although not usually to be recommended from 
an artistic point of view, still tend to give 
even greater breadth. 

If the windows of a room are few in num- 
ber and too small to let in a sufficient amount 
Where of light, great care should be used in 
Windows the curtains. Only the thinnest 
and Few in fabric should be used next to the 
Number glass, and if hangings are desired at 
the sides they may be placed beyond the 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 1 5 

edge of the window opening, covering the 
woodwork. This is also a good treatment 
for a window, when the woodwork is unpleas- 
ant in color or form. However, when the 
woodwork is well designed, it is always 
best to show it, for it gives the window a 
point of unity with the rest of the room. 

If it is felt that there must be roller shades, 
they should be drawn up to the very top of 
the windows, out of sight, during the s .. 
daylight hours. It is never a mis- Better than 
take to let sunshine into the house, Shades 
even if it does fade the rugs and discolor the 
wall paper. It is better to have a healthy, 
and therefore happy, home than an unfaded 
gloom. People often speak of the effect of 
restfulness of a dimly lighted room, but, in 
reality, strained eyes are too often the price 
which is paid for that form of dusky coziness. 
It is always best to let in all the light possible, 
merely softened with the sheerest of curtains. 

The roller shade which is in general use 

in the majority of houses is not really 

. , , , Roller 

essential to any room where the shades 

windows are properly curtained. Um * eces - 

1 .11 sar y 

The draperies next to the glass will 

keep out the crude light from the room, and 



l6 INTERIOR DECORATION 

will insure sufficient privacy. If, in the 
evening, heavier curtains are desired, the 
side hangings may be arranged so that they 
can be drawn across the window, by the aid 
of a simple pulley arrangement with cord 
and tassel at the side. This avoids the 
necessity for the roller shade, which is never 
beautiful, is often hanging askew or is out 
of order, and as generally used keeps out too 
much light. An otherwise pleasing room 
is sometimes spoiled by the various roller 
shades at its windows hanging crookedly, 
or at different levels. 

If, because of their convenience or for some 
particular reason, roller shades are desired, 

there are several points which it is 
Materials we ll to know. When roller shades 
Possible are US ed, they should be made of 

glazed material. A glazed material 
stays clean much longer than an unglazed 
material, because the smooth surface does 
not catch the dust. A blind made of glazed 
material also pulls up much straighter than 
one the material of which clings to its own 
surface. Opaque green shades are best for 
the bedrooms, for they shut out the light 
most completely, and green is a restful color 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 17 

for the eyes. Two-toned shades are often 
used, green on the inside and white on the 
outside. This is especially desirable when 
white shades are used in the windows of the 
rooms on the first floor, so that, from the 
outside, all the windows of the house seem 
uniform. White holland shades without much 
dressing are usually better for the living 
rooms, as they let in the greatest amount of 
light while still giving privacy. Holland 
shade material may be bought by the yard 
and easily made up at home. A holland 
shade usually keeps fairly clean for two years 
and then is often very successfully laundered. 
No attempt at adornment by the use of 
lace or fringe should ever be attempted. 
This only draws attention to the shades. 

Another mistake which is all too often 
made is in the use of short or sash curtains 
stretched across the lower half of a Sash Cur . 
window. This form of curtain not tains 
only detracts from the beauty of Never 
the room in which it is placed, but is be Used 
a detriment to the outside appearance of 
the house as well. If it is necessary to shut 
out the neighbor's view from bedroom, din- 
ing room, or living room, it is best to do so 



1 8 INTERIOR DECORATION 

by the use of very thin net curtains, hanging 
back from the glass, close to the heavier 
curtains which are made to draw. 

The proper hanging of curtains is quite 

important. Thin white curtains should never 

be hung from rings or hooks. As 

Method of , t1 • i i 

Hanging they are usually not required to draw, 
™ n . the rod is best slipped into a stitched 

heading. Rods of white enameled 
metal are proper to use, as they can be washed. 
Brass rods, which are so often used, are not 
as satisfactory, for continued cleaning and 
polishing is required to keep them in fit 
condition. 

Heavy side hangings should be hung upon 

wooden poles matching the woodwork, or 

on strong iron rods enameled the 

Hanging color of the window casing. If the 

Heavy g^e hangings are to be used to draw 

Curtains . , . , r i i« j i 

at night in place of a blind, the cas- 
ing for the curtain rod should be sufficiently 
large. If there are net curtains next the 
glass, side hangings made to draw, and a 
valance, three separate curtain rods, one 
outside the other, are required. If muslin 
curtains are placed next to the window and 
the side hangings are not to be drawn, then 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 1 9 

there need be only two curtain rods, for the 

side hangings and valance may be placed 

on the same rod. Again, if there are to be 

muslin curtains and side hangings, but no 

valance, there need be only. one rod used, 

the side hangings and the muslin curtains 

being placed upon the same rod. 

No window should ever be hung with a 

single curtain stretched across it, and even 

when screening is necessary a few 

inches should always be open in the Glimpse of 

center between the curtains. The *?? ^H*" 

, t 1 • -iir side World 

most beautiiul pictures possible ior a 

room are those made by glimpses of the out- 
side world, framed by the soft folds of the 
window hangings. Even the despised smoke- 
stacks often take on a wonderful beauty 
when only a small portion of the sky line is 
shown in this way. 

In conjunction with simple hangings and 
good design, the beauty of a curtain depends 
upon its color and texture. The buy- color, 
ing of curtain material for her win- J^fcost 
dows is no easy problem for the should All 
woman who wishes only the beautiful m e t( ^ c ®*_ 
and yet must take count of the cost, sideration 
There is no branch of furnishing upon which 



20 INTERIOR DECORATION 

such great profits are made by most mer- 
chants as in curtain materials and in ready- 
made hangings. With a little knowledge 
it is possible to save more in curtains and 
their fittings than in anything else in the 
ordinary furnishing of a house. 

For the brackets and poles at the windows, 
it is always best to measure windows one- 

,_. „ self, buy the fittings of the proper 
The Eco- ' ' & ^ ^ 

nomical length, and then hire a carpenter to 
Way put them up. The resultant bill 

will always be found to be much smaller by 
this method than when the merchant sends 
out a man to take measurements and put 
up the curtain rods. 

In the same way, when expense is to be 
considered, it is always cheaper to buy the 
materials and make your own cur- 
tains and side hangings than to buy 
them ready to hang. The one exception 
to this rule is perhaps the hemstitched cur- 
tains of fine scrim in white or ecru. The 
simple machine finish of these curtains is 
very fine and the price of two dollars a pair 
is not prohibitive. Fine net curtains, fin- 
ished with a simple hem, are also to be had 
at little more than the cost of the material, 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 21 

and at about the price of scrim. These 
two varieties of curtains are suitable in all 
or any of the rooms in a house. Sheer 
muslin curtains with wide hems are especially 
good in the bedrooms. They are usually 
best hung in straight lines, but occasionally 
ruffled muslin curtains, looped back daintily, 
are used in strictly colonial homes. No lace- 
trimmed or all lace curtains should ever 
be used, with the possible exception of exqui- 
site real lace. Even the use of that, however, 
is decidedly questionable in taste and it is 
fortunate that not many people can pay 
the extravagant prices of such curtains. 
Machine-made lace curtains are not inex- 
pensive and are exceedingly ugly. They 
should never be used, as they cheapen the 
entire appearance of the house. In pur- 
chasing them, the home maker surely disobeys 
the good old household rule, "Buy only the 
best of its kind." 

Where the walls of a room are finished 
in light tones, it is usually best to have white 
curtains, if only one pair of curtains 
is used. If, however, the walls are 
toned darker, and only one pair of curtains 
is wished, it is more pleasant to have tinted 



22 INTERIOR DECORATION 

curtains. Contrast between a dark wall and 
a light window is to be avoided if possible. 
In color, window curtains should be a repeti- 
tion of the general color scheme of the room, 
but in a lesser degree. White curtains, used 
alone, are out of place unless the woodwork 
and the wall paper are white or very light. 
Delicate, transparent colors blend more readily 
with the walls of the room, and tone with 
the colors of the view beyond the window 
glass, tempered and softened by distance. 
Cream and ecru scrim, and madras at forty 
cents a yard, are universally pleasing. Fig- 
ured madras, at seventy-five cents a yard, 
having a white or cream background and a 
delicately colored conventional design, is some- 
times desirable in a room where the walls are 
tinted in a plain color of a rather darker tone. 
In a dark-walled room, however, which 
has none too much light, it is often best 
Texture to use thin curtains of net. Net 
and Design cur tains are so transparent that, 
though they protect the occupants of the 
room from the curious gaze of the passer-by, 
they still let in much of the colors of the 
outside world. Although this tends to blend 
the window with the walls, there should 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 23 

still also be side hangings used with the net 
curtains, which will complete a transition 
from the light window to the darker wall. 
If the wall finish is plain, it is often well to 
have a material with a background the color 
of the wall, bearing a design in tones of the 
window. A figured hanging should never 
be used, however, in a room with a decorated 
wall. There the hangings should be of a 
plain color, and of a shade intermediate 
between the dominant tone of the paper or 
stencil and the window tone. By this means 
the observer's eye is carried around the room 
in continuous progression. There is no dis- 
tinct break in rhythm when each window is 
reached. 

In color, the outside draperies of a window 
should repeat the dominant color in the room, 
often that in the rug. In this way 

P .. r . . , , Repetition 

a feeling 01 unity is procured between f the 

the walls of a room and its furnish- Dominant 

Colors 

ings. Where the carpets or rugs are 
plain, the dominant color may be found in 
them or in the upholstery of the furniture. 
Where figured or oriental rugs are used, some 
pronounced motif usually supplies the color 
key of the draperies, which should be of a 



24 INTERIOR DECORATION 

solid tone. The material chosen for the 
overdraperies should generally be used again 
in couch or chair cushions. In bedrooms 
or in the living rooms of very simple homes 
figured denims used as draperies for the 
windows and for couch covers and cushions 
give an effect of cheerfulness which can hardly 
be equaled in any other way. In more 
formal rooms where greater richness is de- 
sired, and where portieres and upholstery are 
of the same material, a heavier fabric should 
be used, such as velvet, velour, aras, monks- 
cloth, or extra-weight denim. 

Color, however, is of vastly more impor- 
tance than material. It is better to buy 
Color unbleached muslin or some other 

Harmony very cheap cloth and have it dyed the 
proper hue, than to use hangings made of 
the most rich and luxurious fabric which do 
not harmonize with the walls, floor, and furni- 
ture of the room in which they are placed. 

There is a general rule which it is well 
always to remember in interior decoration. 

a Good ^ * s ^ s — ^ se P^ am ru £ s an d nan g- 

Rule to ings with decorated walls, plain walls 

and rugs with figured hangings, and, 

as a usual thing, plain walls and hangings 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 25 

with floor covering bearing a pronounced 
design. There are, of course, exceptions in 
charming instances, such as in the use of 
chintz draperies woven to match the design 
of German papers, but usually the rule is 
safe to follow. 

The materials for the side hangings of a 
window may be quite inexpensive though 
very effective. Quaint figured ere- inexpen. 
tonnes in various designs and colors siveMa- 

, 1 • 1 r r r terials for 

can be obtained for from forty to side 
seventy-five cents a yard. Im- Hangings 
ported English cretonne at ninety cents 
a yard is especially charming. English, 
French, and German chintz are very beautiful 
and cost but little more. Plain colored 
cretonnes, poplins, and homespun range in 
price from twenty-five cents to forty cents 
a yard. The rough weave of unbleached 
muslin is most effective when draperies made 
of it are dyed to match the dominant color 
of the room in which they are placed. Jap- 
anese toweling with its contrasting blue 
and white is attractive in dining rooms of the 
simpler sort and in many bedrooms. It 
may be purchased at almost any department 
store at one dollar for a bolt of twelve yards. 



26 INTERIOR DECORATION 

Other colors may also be had in Japanese 
toweling, and, although not usually as strik- 
ing, are sometimes very pleasing in the softer 
hues. Mercerized cotton poplins are sold 
for fifteen cents a yard, and, when hung, 
give almost the effect of the more expensive 
sun-proof silks. Another material having a 
rough weave and the color of raw pongee 
comes at the same price. It is really very 
rich looking when used in a room in tones 
of brown. A plain, washable material called 
casement cloth is made in England, and may 
be had in excellent values of dull blue, green, 
and brown. It is thirty inches wide and 
costs only thirty-five cents a yard. It is 
especially suited to simple curtains used next 
the window or as side hangings and has the 
advantage of taking stencil well, where a 
very formal design is permissible. 

Of the richer fabrics, there is also a great 
variety, especially woven for use in classic 
Side drawing-rooms, pleasant living 

Hangings rooms, dignified dining rooms or cozy 
Expensive breakfast rooms, as well as for the 
Materials haY[ s and bedrooms. There are 
hangings having little luster in soft silks, 
reps, poplins, aras, tapestries, and other effec- 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 27 

tive stuffs. Fabrics with a pile are richer, 
giving soft color with lustrous high lights 
and deep shadows. There are velvets of 
many kinds, of cotton, linen, silk, and mohair. 
Some have high gloss, some very little, some 
are striped or brocaded or woven in elaborate 
designs. Reproductions of the most notable 
examples of velvets, tapestries, damasks, and 
brocades of historical periods may be pro- 
cured at reasonable figures. The sense of 
harmony should be used in the choice of 
these various fabrics, however. Rich, quiet 
materials should be selected for dignified 
rooms in the pretentious homes. The dra- 
peries should be in keeping with the pur- 
poses of the rooms, and should be of the kind 
that will be pleasant to live with day after day. 
Wool tapestries of close, hard weaves, 
reproducing many of the designs and colors 
of priceless stuffs, may be purchased Modem 
at prices ranging from four dollars Tapestries 
a yard upward. These are suitable for side 
hangings for large windows, for door cur- 
tains, and for upholstery. They are fifty 
inches in width. All-wool tapestries have 
the advantage of being practically fadeless, 
but there are also many cheaper grades 



28 INTERIOR DECORATION 

which come in a mixture of cotton and wool 
and are very beautiful in design and color. 
Tapestry cloth usually suggests rooms of 
dignified proportions and furnishings, but 
simpler rooms, especially those of the colonial 
type, are often suited to its use. 

Mahogany furniture suggests velvet and 
velours for the heavy draperies. The double- 
faced velours at from three to four 

Velour, 

Velvet, and dollars a yard are very inexpensive 
Damask j Qr t j ie a pp earance f richness given. 

Velvet and satiny wool damasks are of course 
more beautiful in texture, but are much more 
costly. 

Aras cloth at a dollar and a half a square 

yard is usually best with craftsman and 

Mission furniture and with oak furni- 

SmtaWe tu re of the simpler kinds. The rich- 

for Simple ness f the hangings should never 

Furniture , . . r . - . 

overshadow the furniture oi the room, 
for it should be kept in mind that the hang- 
ings are a part of the wall or background of 
the room picture. 

Where heavy hangings are neces- 
ingsof sar y at tne doors, it is sometimes 

Light- best to have lighter weight side hang- 

Weight . . . . i r i 

Material mgs at the windows, but ot the same 



WINDOWS AND THEIR DECORATIVE TREATMENT 29 

color. For this use there is a material called 
secco silk at thirty-five cents a yard, sun-proof 
silk at two dollars a yard, and silk pongee 
at seventy cents a yard, as well as many 
others. 

As with the inside curtains, the most eco- 
nomical plan is to buy the materials and 
have them made up in the house, Hangings 
using simple hems or plain gimps maybe 
and bindings for finish. In search- i^the 
ing for the desirable fabrics it is House 
often well to pay a visit to the clothing 
material sections of the department stores. 
There curtain fabrics may sometimes be 
purchased which are more suitable than are 
the materials carried in the house furnishing 
departments, and there is usually a great 
saving in expense to the thrifty housewife. 
They must only answer that test of good 
hangings — harmony with the various parts 
of the rooms in which they are placed. 

REFERENCES 

De Wolfe, Elsie 

The House in Good Taste. 

The Century Company, New York, 1913. 
Hangings, Chapter VII. 



30 INTERIOR DECORATION 

Herts, B. Russell 

The Decoration and Furnishing of Apartments. 
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1915. 
Curtains, Part II, Chapter VIII. 
Throop, Lucy Abbot 

Furnishing the Home of Good Taste. 
McBride, Nast & Company, New York, 1912. 
Curtains, pp. 181-188. 



CHAPTER III 

THE FINISHING OF FLOORS 

The Treatment of Wood Floors, Old and New — The 
Use of Linoleum, Tiles, and Cement for Floor 
Coverings. 

The floor is the decorative foundation of 
the room, the starting point in the ascending 
scale of color tones, and as such _. _ t 

' . The Floor 

should always be darker in value as the 
than the side walls, in the same de- JrJJSSoii 
gree that the side walls are darker of the 
than the ceiling. The floor should oom 
not be inlaid in complicated designs and 
covered with patterns which prove distract- 
ing. It should be as inconspicuous as pos- 
sible and should be a restful background for 
the rugs and for the furniture of the room. 

In the more inexpensively constructed 
homes of to-day the light oak, maple, L i gn t 
or pine floor is often used, varnished Floors 

, .« . . ,., r should be 

or waxed until its mirrorlike surface stained 
compels attention. The most beau- Darker 
tiful rugs and the finest of furniture are 

31 



32 INTERIOR DECORATION 

dimmed by its saffron splendor, which is 
at once the pride of the enterprising landlord 
and the despair of any tenant who wishes 
to create a homelike interior. Fortunately, 
however, all houses are not owned by land- 
lords and even occasionally, when the house 
is rented, the owner may be brought to see 
the error of his ways and may allow a stain 
to be applied which will darken the floor 
to a satisfactory tone. 

Wood stains may be purchased in various 
colors which are already dissolved in alcohol, 
Th n or a good stain may be made by mix- 
of Wood ing oil paint and turpentine. Color 
cards of wood stains can be procured 
which may be brought into the room where 
the floor is to be darkened and the desired 
hue and value decided upon. Shades of 
brown, of silver-gray, or of brownish green 
are usually best, giving the effect of Flemish 
oak, weathered oak, brown weathered oak, 
or green weathered oak. If the stain pur- 
chased is too dark, it may be lightened by 
the addition of a little wood alcohol, and the 
dye may then be applied with a camel's- 
hair brush. Open ground woods should have 
the pores filled with a paste filler. These 



THE FINISHING OF FLOORS 33 

fillers may be purchased containing any stain 
desired, and should be used on oak, ash, and 
chestnut floors. Maple, birch, hard pine, 
and sycamore are close grained and do not 
require a filler. 

The finish for stained floors may be either 
wax or varnish. Varnished floors are the 
most easily cared for. Durable, Varnished 
water and heat proof varnishes are and Waxed 
now on the market, and two coats oors 
applied once a year are all that are needed 
for the average floor. Waxed floors are 
more beautiful, but require constant care. 
For waxed floors a ready prepared wax 
may be used, or beeswax melted with turpen- 
tine to the consistency of lard is equally 
satisfactory. Two coats of wax are usually 
necessary, and they may be applied with a 
soft rag or, better, with a weighted brush 
which is manufactured for that purpose. 
The wax should be rubbed on only a few 
feet of the surface of the floor at a time and 
this portion polished before proceeding farther. 
One coat of varnish should always be given 
to the wood before the wax is applied, for 
the wax alone is not a sufficient protection 
to the wood against grease and moisture. 



34 INTERIOR DECORATION 

The floors should be rubbed about every 
two months and additional wax applied to 

The Care a ^ worn pl aces - H a floor is allowed 

of the to become worn down to the bare 

wood, dirt is ground into the surface 

and cannot be removed without scraping. All 

grease and dirt should be thoroughly removed 

before any new finish is applied. On varnished 

floors this is especially important, and a good 

scrubbing with strong soapsuds is most effective. 

Very poor floors may be successfully stained 

and then varnished, if first all nails are re- 

R moved and every crack and chink 

vationof filled with putty. When floors are 
Old Floors old? or badly discolored? it is often 

best to use another finish which is made es- 
pecially for this purpose. It is a varnish and 
stain combined, called floor lac. The pig- 
ment is retained in the varnish instead of 
sinking into the wood, so that the floor with 
its imperfections does not show through 
to any great extent. If the floors are very 
badly marred, however, one coat of ground 
paint is necessary before applying the varnish 
stain. The painted surface covers the rough 
places in the wood and furnishes a surface 
which is extremely durable. 



THE FINISHING OF FLOORS 35 

Oiled hardwood floors are suitable for 
the kitchen and the bathroom. Oiled floors 
have the advantage of not being slip- oiled 
pery and may be mopped up with Floors 
water each day. A good quality of raw 
linseed oil should be used, and two coats 
each year are generally needed to keep the 
floors in good condition. 

A practical covering for the kitchen and 
the bathroom is linoleum. It may be kept 
spotlessly clean with frequent wash- .. . 

. . . Linoleum 

ings and is attractive in appear- 
ance. It comes in simple inlaid designs of 
white or cream, combined with a light color. 
The best grade of linoleum is the wisest 
purchase, for it wears well. A good kitchen 
floor covering of this material will usually 
be found to be in excellent condition ten 
years from the time it is first used. Lino- 
leum is rather awkward to handle, so it is 
best to have it laid by the firm from which 
it is purchased. A narrow molding should 
be placed over the edge next to the base- 
board of the room. 

Tiles, of course, make an ideal sanitary 
covering for kitchen and bathroom floors. 
They may be kept clean and are beautiful. 



36 INTERIOR DECORATION 

They are, however, too expensive for the 

average small home, so it is fortunate that 

there is a very satisfactory substitute 
Floors of . J J . 

Tile and in cement. A cement floor is otten 
Cement nQW j a jj j n an ^ Qne Q f a var i e ty of 

colors which will harmonize with the rest 
of the room. It may be left in one plain 
surface, or may be lined off with a small tool 
in tile effect while the material is still soft. 
It is the most sanitary of all floors in one 
respect, for the edges are usually rounded 
up to the baseboard in one continuous curve, 
thus facilitating cleaning. In one corner 
of the room an outlet for water may be 
placed. The one disadvantage of both tile 
and cement floors is that they are rather 
hard on the feet if there is much standing to 
be done. In the kitchen when floors of this 
kind are used rubber mats may be found a 
great comfort when placed before the sink 
and work tables. 

Comfort and suitability should both be 
considered in choosing floor finishes. The 
floors of the home will then take their place 
as a subordinate but very important element 
in the general scheme of decoration. 



THE FINISHING OF FLOORS 37 

REFERENCES 

Elder-Duncan, J. H. 

The House Beautiful and Useful. 

John Lane Company, New York, 1908. 
Cement Floors, p. 35. 
McIntosh, John Giddes 
Manufacture of Varnishes. 

Scott, Greenwood & Son, London, 191 1. 
Floor Recipes, pp. 393-396. 
Robinson, L. Eugene 
Domestic Architecture. 
The Macmillan Co., New York, 191 7. 
Sabin, Alvah Horton 
House Painting. 

John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1908. 
Floor Finishing, pp. 61-68. 
Sabin, Alvah Horton 
Technology of Paint and Varnish. 
John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1904. 
Floors, pp. 318-320. 
Sabin, Louis Carlton 
Cement and Concrete. 

McGraw Publishing Co., New York, 1905. 
Cement Floors, pp. 426-428. 



CHAPTER IV 

DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 

The Treatment of Floors regarding Color, Value, 
Subordination — Different Varieties of Domestic 
Makes and their Relative Cost. 

As has been said, the floor of a room is the 

foundation upon which the entire decora- 

_,, „, tion of a room rests, and since floors 
The Floor > 

as a Back- are usually carpeted or largely cov- 
groun erec j w j t j 1 rU gs, the selection of floor 

coverings is of the greatest importance. The 
color value of the floor should be substantial 
and harmonious in effect, for a room should 
always look as if it had been furnished from the 
bottom up, even though, in reality, the rug or 
carpet may have been the last thing selected. 
As a general rule it is wisest to decide upon 
Floor the wall finish first, because of the 

Covering necessity of adaptation to the amount 

often gives ... 

the Domi- of light which the windows let in, but 

toTthe° 10r neXt in ° rder snould come tne floor 
Room covering. From it is usually worked 

out the entire color scheme of the room. 

38 



DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 39 

If the rug or carpet is many-hued and figured, 
some dominant color is selected and repeated 
in varying degrees of value and intensity in 
the window draperies and upholsteries. If 
the floor covering is plain, the same color or 
a harmonizing hue is repeated elsewhere in 
the room. 

In color, the floor coverings should never 
be vivid. If a rug is too bright, it will seem 
to fairly jump from the floor and 
attention will be drawn to it rather 
than toward the furniture for which it is 
the foundation. The majority of people have 
passed that stage of affection for the hearth 
rug proudly bearing a recumbent dog, or the 
carpet boasting huge roses and lilies which 
might well have been plucked from the covers 
of a florist's catalogue, but it is still not gen- 
erally known that, even though the design 
of a floor covering is conventional, it must 
also be sufficiently dull to stay down in its 
proper place. There are many women who 
feel that an oriental rug must fit in any room 
in which it is placed because of the harmony 
centering about a diversity of colors, but 
this is a false idea. Many of the rugs which 
come from the Far East are so vivid in hue 



40 INTERIOR DECORATION 

that the rooms in which they are placed must 
be greatly intensified in color in order to 
keep a proper tone balance. 

There should also be a sufficient depth 
of value to support the rest of the room, or 
the rug or carpet does not seem 
securely planted under foot. If a 
large rug is used or a number of small rugs, 
rather than a carpet, and if the surrounding 
floor is light, there must be an especial depth 
in value to secure the effect of an adequate 
foundation. When a perfect balance has 
been achieved in this respect, it is really 
immaterial whether the floor covering has cost 
much or little. The visitor will not think of 
the floor, but will merely sense the feeling of 
repose given by a well-planned picture. 
^ A . For this reason domestic rugs are 

Domestic . . ° 

Rugs are often as artistically satisfactory as 

f!ctor^in S ~ t ^ ie more cost ly orientals, and there 
intensity is certainly a wide choice among 
811 aue the varieties made in our own land. 
The plain rug or carpet is perhaps in great- 
est vogue to-day among those of domestic 
The Plain make. There are many good reasons 
Ru s favoring its choice. A plain floor 

covering, like a plain wall, sets off to good 



DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 4 1 

advantage whatever may be placed upon it. 

There is no reason for calling attention to 

an inexpensive rug by introducing a design 

which will detract from furnishings of greater 

value in the room. Most of the rooms in 

our homes to-day are too small, and a plain 

rug or carpet adds to the apparent size of 

the floor space. When carpets, rather than 

rugs, are used, the use of one solid color on 

the floors of adjoining rooms adds greatly 

to the effect of spaciousness and gives a sense 

of unity to the whole house. 

As has just been said, the greatest sense 

of size is given by an unbroken floor space, 

so, in the same way, if plain floor 

' . 1 Effect of 

coverings are used, a room appears size given 

largest which is carpeted, next in size |* a Plain 

if a single large rug is used, but much 

smaller if a number of small rugs are used. 

A plain floor always seems larger than a 

floor bearing a design, whether that design 

is made by figures woven into the floor 

covering, or by the arrangements of rugs 

upon the floor. When, however, small rugs 

are selected, they should fit like mosaics 

into a picture, in color and design and in 

their placing. 



42 INTERIOR DECORATION 

The choice of floor covering, however, is 

affected by so many conditions that it is 

not easy to lay down any definite 

dination of rules as guides. Rugs and carpets 

Floor should always be as inconspicuous 

Coverings ' ,11 • 1 

as possible. Iney must blend with 
the walls and furnishings, or an otherwise 
beautiful room will prove unpleasant to live in. 
The less pronounced the floor of the room, the 
better and more restful the combined effect. 

Among the most harmonious domestic rugs 
made are those in one, two, or three plain- 
toned borders of one color. Where 

Plain Rugs , , , 

with two or three tones are used, the cen- 

Banded tra j value is lighter than the marginal 
border. These rugs have a pile which 
is often quite deep, and they are firmly woven. 
A plain Axminster velvet rug in a nine 
by twelve size may be purchased as low as 
Axminster twenty-eight dollars. The Axmin- 
Ru e s ster carpets and rugs have a rather 

coarse warp, but the rugs especially give a 
very good effect and have fair wearing qual- 
ities. The Chenille Axminster rugs in plain 
tones are made after the fashion of hand- 
tufted rugs of Scotland. They are very 
heavy, with a deep pile and made of the very 



DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 43 

finest wool. Large Chenille rugs may be 
purchased for sixty-eight dollars and up. 

Plain Wilton rugs are also very satis- 
factory. They may always be relied upon 
for appearance and service. The waton 
warp is closer than the Axminster, Ru s s 
and the pile is deeper in the less expensive 
grades. Plain rugs, and plain rugs with 
two-toned borders, may be had in the Wiltons 
in several grades, ranging from twenty-four 
dollars up to sixty dollars for the ones of large 
size. 

There is only one objection to these solid- 
color rugs-, and that is that they do show dust 

and footmarks all too plainly. For 

. . • 1 11 1 • The One 

this reason, in halls and in rooms objection 

directly entered from the street, it £> Plain 
is well to plan a color scheme per- 
mitting of the use of rather light rugs in a 
brownish tone. Footprints are not thus so 
noticeable as they are on a darker rug in a 
different color. 

In many homes figured rugs are preferred, 
and here there is a greater variety to choose 
from. The American rug manufac- Figured 
turers long ago realized the appeal Ru s s 
which the beauty and practicability of the 



44 INTERIOR DECORATION 

oriental rug makes to the average home 
maker, and they have constantly endeavored 
to give to the public a rug just as well made, 
just as beautiful, and with the same wearing 
qualities as the antique, but at one tenth 
the price of a good oriental. Each year 
there are more perfect and beautiful repro- 
ductions made, and it is astonishing how 
closely they conform to the traditions of 
eastern art. 

Productions ranging in price from twenty 

dollars to one hundred dollars for a nine 

by twelve rug are in the first rank. 

Distinction — , , 1 • • i r 1 

in Quality I he wool used is imported from the 
of Various Orient, is strong, tough, and resilient, 
and gives great wear. Both Wilton 
and Body Brussels are made, being woven 
on Jacquard looms. In the weaving the 
yarn is thrown over long, slender steel wires 
so as to form a loop. In the Brussels fabric, 
the wire is merely pulled out, leaving the 
loop intact. In the Wilton, there is a sharp 
knife at the end of the wire which cuts the 
loops as they are drawn out and makes each 
loop a tuft. All rugs of this class are made in 
this way, and so, in judging the relative value 
of rugs, before purchasing it is well to look 



DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 45 

at the back of the rugs and select the firm 
fabric which is very closely tufted. The 
closeness of the tufts can also be told on 
the upper side by bending the rug sharply. 
The more closely tufted the rug, the greater 
is its value. The finest Wilton rugs have 
600 knots to the square inch. Axminsters 
in good oriental designs may be found at 
reasonable prices, while tapestry rugs are 
even cheaper. Tapestry fabric is made of 
printed wool, and may always be distinguished 
by the blurred appearance of the figures. 

Very few people whose taste leads them 
to desire genuine orientals can resist the 
Smyrna rug, a rug with two wearing Smyrna 
surfaces and a price which figures a Ru s s 
very great saving. The Smyrna rug is re- 
versible. The colorings and designs are exact 
reproductions of orientals in many cases. 

Scotch rugs are also reversible and are 
made of Scotch wool. A large rug costs 
twenty-five dollars. They are made scotch 
with the weave of an ingrain carpet Ru s s 
and are usually artistic in design and coloring. 
A nursery rug in Scotch wool comes at eight- 
een dollars and is woven with a charming 
border of quaint animals. 



46 INTERIOR DECORATION 

Rag rugs are to be found in the depart- 
ment stores in all sizes, colors, and prices. 
Many of them are very thick and 
soft in color and blend admirably 
with the colonial furniture of a bedroom. 
A large rug nine by twelve may be purchased 
for twelve dollars and a half and gives good 
service, as it washes well. Rag rugs are 
also suitable for the living room when they 
are woven from well-worn wool carpet. An 
old velvet carpet, faded and worn, often 
makes a rug of most charming texture and 
color, and the cost of weaving is slight. 

Rugs of Scotch Caba Fiber at ten dollars 
are suitable for the veranda and bedrooms. 
Large grass rugs may also be found at 
ugs the same price, smaller rugs for less. 
They are cold in quality and therefore are 
more suitable for the summer cottage than 
for the permanent home. 

In this day of vacuum cleaners there has 

been somewhat of a revival for carpets. If 

a cleaner is installed in the house 

Carpets 

versus with an attachment in each room, 
Rugs it is certainly less work to have car- 

pets than rugs. The effect given by a floor 
completely covered is warmer, and many 



DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 47 

people feel that it is more luxurious and in- 
viting. That is a question of taste which 
may be decided by each home-maker. Vel- 
vet, Body Brussels, and Ingrain carpets may 
be purchased by the running yard at a 
slightly lower figure a square foot than may 
be purchased in a rug of the same quality. 
Plain, soft colors are unquestionably the 
most artistic but are not always desired be- 
cause of dust and footprints and the wear 
which shows in the well-used places before 
the doors. A patterned carpet, while not 
so beautiful, shows wear much less, but, if 
used, the figures should be small and unob- 
trusive and should be close enough to cover 
the background well. Then there will be no 
spotty effect to draw attention to the floor. 

For the people of quite limited means the 
domestic rug or carpet is undoubtedly the 
wise selection. A cheap oriental rug 
is usually not beautiful, is loosely of Do- 
woven, and gives poor service. Good JJ??5 
orientals, on the other hand, by rea- often Pref- 
son of their very richness are apt to theUse°of 
form a painful contrast with the furni- Oriental 
ture in the modest home. It is also a 
mistake to sink a large sum of money in a rug 



48 INTERIOR DECORATION 

with the idea that a real antique will wear for- 
ever. Antiques are only antiques because they 
have been very carefully used. In the Orient 
it would be a sacrilege not to remove the 
footgear before entering a house. Here in 
America the hard impressions of our stout 
shoes cause our rugs to wear in a compara- 
tively short time, so, occasionally, there is 
additional expense for renapping, for weav- 
ing in the damaged places, and for making 
the necessary repairs. However, modern ori- 
entals are very satisfactory, for the patterns 
are beautiful and, as the rugs are new when 
purchased, the wearing qualities are excellent. 
Indeed, a modern oriental, while costing much 
more than a domestic rug, also wears several 
times as long, so the expense is often no 
greater in the end. For the householder 
of sufficient capital to purchase either modern 
or oriental rugs, the question is merely that 
of suitability and harmony to the home. 
In one house an unobtrusive Wilton or 
Body Brussels rug may seem in keeping 
with the scheme of furnishing, in another 
house an oriental rug may add a needed point 
of interest. 



DOMESTIC RUGS AND CARPETS 49 

REFERENCE 

Hunter, George Leland 
Home Furnishing. 
John Lane Company, New York, 1908. 
Domestic Rugs, Chapter V. 



CHAPTER V 

ORIENTAL RUGS 

The ^Esthetic Appeal of the Oriental Rug — The Four 
Principal Classes and Some Subdivisions — Risks 
Encountered in Purchasing. 

A home is something more than a place 
in which to live. It is what both men and 
women long for, work for, and from 
Esthetic which children receive their earliest 
Value of an d most enduring impressions. 
Their view of life is influenced by 
whatever of finer suggestion or of real uplift 
it is possible to bring into their environment. 
If the income is not too limited, it is a wise 
investment to do all that is possible to beau- 
tify the home and to add to its charm. 

Oriental rugs have a power of fascination 

The Em anc * a P ecu ^ ar mystical quality 
tionai which stirs the imagination and 

tffat emotions, more, perhaps, than any 
Oriental other item of household furnishing. 
Rug Each rug, laboriously made by hand, 

represents months or years of patient work, 

50 



ORIENTAL RUGS 5 1 

and necessarily reflects the changing moods 

and mind of the maker. Each piece of 

fabric has received a personal touch which 

gives it almost a life and personality in the 

family circle. 

Although in some homes of unlimited 

means, oriental rugs may be entirely out 

of place because of the color scheme The 

or the manner of furnishing — plain Blending 

Power of 
rugs are sometimes needed where oriental 

there is much wall decoration, and Ru s s 

mission and craftsman furniture requires floor 

covering of modern design — yet, the scope of 

the oriental weavings, old and new, is so 

great in variety of texture, color, and design, 

that suitable selections may usually be 

made fOr almost any room. The variety 

of colors in multitudes of tones and values 

tends to make the rugs blend in any setting. 

Some of the best effects, however, are gained 

by the use of rugs woven by the eastern 

workers from special color schemes sent 

over to them from this country. Where 

it is practical to have rugs made to order in 

this way, it is possible to have a wonderful 

harmony in color in the rooms in which they 

are used. 



52 INTERIOR DECORATION 

There are many oriental rugs upon the 
market, but it is distressingly hard for the 
Precaution prospective purchaser to judge of 
Necessary values. The uninformed person is 
mining easily cheated, so it is well to deal 
Quality on \y w j t h tne merchant whose rep- 
utation for honesty is of the best. The 
innumerable oriental rugs with which America 
is now flooded, are usually genuine, however, 
in that they are really hand woven. All 
Asia seems to have gone to weaving since the 
demand for eastern floor coverings became 
so universal. However, this great increase 
in the industry has given the inevitable 
result of inferior production. The wool used 
in these days is often not so good, and poor 
aniline dyes are sometimes used instead of 
the vegetable dyes which were always used 
formerly. Cheap aniline dyes are never as 
soft in color as vegetable dyes, so rugs of this 
inferior dye are usually " washed" by a 
chemical process which softens the colors but 
rots the wool. A " washed" rug may occa- 
sionally be detected by rubbing a small spot 
with a moistened handkerchief. If the color 
comes off, the dye is aniline of a poor grade 
and the rug is doomed to lose its color with a 




Persian Prayer Rug, i6th Century. 



{Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum) 




(Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum) 



Turkoman Rug. 



Caucasian Rug, i8th Century. 



(Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum) 







(Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum) 
Chinese Rug, Camel's-hair, i8th Century. 



ORIENTAL RUGS 53 

comparatively short period of use. Before 
wool will take aniline dyes well, the natural 
oil has to be scoured out of it more thoroughly 
than when vegetable dyes are used. This 
scouring process leaves the wool looking dead 
and lifeless, so after the rug is dyed with ani- 
line colors, a high luster is given by the use 
of a glycerine bath. The pleasing sheen which 
this lends soon wears off under the tread of 
the disappointed purchasers. 

Small rugs, four by five feet and less, of 
modern make, of good design and color, may 
be purchased all the way from ten Relative 
to fifty dollars. Large rugs and Cost 
antiques are higher in price, varying according 
to age, beauty in color and sheen, and fineness 
of texture. The most expensive rugs some- 
times contain 1000 knots to the square inch 
and represent the work of a lifetime. 

Oriental rugs are usually divided into four 
principal classes, Caucasian, Turkish, Turko- 
man, and Persian. Each class is Four 

distinguished by some special char- Principal 

. . . Classes of 

acteristic in design, and within the oriental 

classes there are many subdivisions Ru s s 

usually easily recognized by the connoisseur, 

who examines not only the pattern, but the 



54 INTERIOR DECORATION 

material of the warp, tuft and pile, and the 
length of the pile. He also counts the number 
of knots to the square inch, and determines 
the kind of knot used. After assembling 
all these points of identification he is usually- 
able to give the rug which is being examined 
the true name. 

The average buyer of the more inexpensive 

oriental rugs has neither the knowledge nor the 

time for such careful examination, 

Reliable , , i r 

Dealers an d must rely upon only a tew gen- 
should be era i facts on the subject, and upon 

Patronized , . r 111 

the word of a trusted dealer. 
Caucasian rugs come from the Russian 
Caucasus, once Persian territory, but ac- 
Caucasian quired by Russia in the nineteenth 
Ru s s century. These rugs bear designs 

which are rectilinear and geometrical. There 
are three principal types, the Daghestans, 
Shirvans, and Kabistans. Daghestan rugs 
are very beautiful with their silvered tones of 
red, blue, green, and yellow, and designs of 
stars, squares, and hexagons, of the most 
conventional type. They are suited for use 
in small reception rooms where dignity is 
desired. Kabistans are more like Persian rugs, 
for they are softer in color than the Daghes- 



ORIENTAL RUGS 55 

tans or Shirvans. Stiff animal and human 
forms appear in the designs of Kabistans. 

For living rooms, libraries, and uses for 
dining rooms, Turkish and Turko- Ru ssof 

° . . the Second 

man rugs are especially desirable as and Third 
they are to be easily found in the Class 
larger sizes. 

Turkomans are distinguished by the use 
of many octagons. Perhaps the best known 
Turkoman is the Bokhara, named Turkoman 
after one of the most remote coun- Ru s s 
tries of the world, seven hundred miles east 
of the Caspian Sea. The rugs which come 
from this far country have octagons and 
diamonds in blue and white designs on rich 
red backgrounds. Long wool fringes and wide 
selvages prevent fraying. Bokhara rugs are' 
strong in color and should never be used in a 
dainty room. Baluchistans, another type of 
the Turkoman class, are also well fringed and 
selvaged like the Bokharas, but come in softer 
colors, more like the Persian rugs. 

The equilateral triangle can always be 
traced in a Turkish rug. In Ladik or Anato- 
lian fabrics there are usually borders Turkish 
which are composed of figures which Ru s s 
look like flowers, until when traced they are 



56 INTERIOR DECORATION 

found to be made up of one square or triangle 
after another, joined to give floral form. 
Turkish rugs are woven in soft tones of the 
primary colors, blended with a skill that gives 
a subdued effect. The designs are apt to be 
very symmetrical and the center of the field 
of the rug is often pointed at both ends, 
except in the case of the prayer rugs. The 
Kaba-Karaman and Anatolian prayer rugs 
are seen most often for sale. 

The finest rugs in the world are woven in 
Persia. Rug weaving in Persia is especially 
Persian fostered by national pride and 
Ru s s strongly encouraged by the rulers of 

that country. Great care is taken to keep 
the rugs woven here from deteriorating in 
excellence, and the use of aniline dyes is abso- 
lutely prohibited for this reason. Persian rugs 
are characterized by soft, exquisite coloring 
and a floral design. 

The most interesting of the Persian rugs 
are the Kirman. The hues of these rugs are 
very delicate and the plant, flower, 
Types of an< 3 bird form designs are treated less 
Persian geometrically and more naturalisti- 
cally than those of any other oriental 
rugs. They are unusually soft and silky and 



ORIENTAL RUGS 57 

have a beautiful sheen. Saraband rugs are 
woven in the mountains of western Persia 
and derive their designs from the pine trees 
found there. Rows of small pine cones usually 
fill the central field, the stems of the cones 
pointing alternate ways. The colors are red, 
blue, and ivory. Quaint medallion effects 
are found in Saruk and Tabriz rugs. These 
rugs are delicate in coloring, and of admirable 
weave, and are among the most popular of 
the many types of Persian rugs. 

There are many other types of the four 
classes of oriental rugs, each reflecting the 
thought and customs of some period The Charm 
in the history of the country from of the 
which they come. Commercialism taque 
has cheapened the design and color in many 
instances, but the charm of a human quality 
still remains and no manufactured rug can 
ever supply that personal element. The an- 
tique oriental rugs were the result of years of 
patient effort. The thoughts, emotions, his- 
tory, and legends of the regions from which 
they come, are faithfully recorded in the rugs. 
The most beautiful rug was, to the girl of the 
Orient, what the painstaking sampler was to 
the child of our grandparents' day. No work 



58 



INTERIOR DECORATION 



was too fine, no effort was too great, for the 
rug, when at last completed, was to last a 
generation and more, cherished as a household 
treasure. 

The modern rugs are made for commerce 
rather than for home use in their native land, 
but still, a feeling of loyalty to, and 
reverence for, the craft of their ances- 
tors inspires the workmen and work- 
women of to-day with an affectionate enthu- 
siasm which must inevitably show in their 
finished products. Though the stitches are 
hurried and often not nearly so fine, the same 
ancient symbols are used in the designs, and 
many quaint legends may be traced through 
the mesh of the intricate patterns. 



The 

Modern 
Oriental 



CLASSIFICATION OF ORIENTAL RUGS 



Persian 




Yuruk 


Niris 


Herez; Bakshich, Gorevan, Serapi 


Kurdish 


Laristan 


Karadagh 


Kirman 


Senna 


Koultuk 


Kashan 


Saruk 


Souj-Boulak 


Ispahan 


Kurdistan 


Sultanabad ; Savalans, Muskabad, 


Bijar 


Mahal 


Jooshaghan 


Khorassan 


Feraghan; Antique 



ORIENTAL RUGS 


Meshed; Meshed Ispahan (good) 


Shiraz 


Herat ; Ayin (cheap grade) 


Kirmanshah 


Hamadan; Oustrinan, Karaguez 


Tabriz 


Saraband; Selville (poor) 


Mosul 


Turkoman 


Beshire 


Afghan 


Samarkand 


Baluchistan 


Bokhara 


Yomund 


Caucasian 


Soumack 


Kazak 


Daghestan 


Genghis 


Leshgian 


Derbend 


Chichi 


Karabagh 


Shirvan 


Kabistan 


Turkish 


[ 


Bergamo 


Kaba-Karaman 


Kulah; Modern 


Konieh ; Modern 


Oushak; Yaprak, Kirman 


Meles or Cardian 


Demirdji; Enile, Gulistan 


Akhissar 


Ghiordes; Modern, Hammadieh 


Makri 


Cassaba; Sparta 


Anatolian 


Kulah; Antique 


Caesarian 


Ghiordes; Antique 


Kirshebn 


Ladik; Antique 





59 



REFERENCES 
Dunn, Eliza 

Rugs in Their Native Land. 

Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1910. 
History, Chapter I. 
Doctored Rugs, Chapter IV. 



60 INTERIOR DECORATION 

Holt, Rosa Belle 

Rugs, Oriental and Occidental, Antique and Modern. 
A. C. McClurg & Co., 1908. 
Chinese, Chapter IV. 
Symbols, Chapter VI. 
Mumford, John Kimberly 
Oriental Rugs. 

Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1901. 
Caucasian, Chapter IX. 
Turkish, Chapter X. 
Persian, Chapter XI. 
Turkoman, Chapter XII. 
Ripley, Mary Churchill 
The Oriental Rug Book. 

Frederick A. Stokes Co., New York. 
Materials, Chapter V. 



CHAPTER VI 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 

The Home of Ancient and Medieval Times and Its 
Furniture — The Renaissance — Period Styles of 
Furniture — The Modern Reawakening.^ 

One of the foremost interior decorators of 
the country recently said that his greatest 
trouble came with otherwise cultured y 
women who had the idea firmly fixed ideas of 
in their minds that there were just ^egu&tQ 
three styles of furniture. All Period 
straight-lined furniture, to them, is 
mission, all mahogany with glass knobs is 
colonial, and all painted or gilded furniture 
is Louis the Sixteenth ! 

Although there are many more than three 
styles in furniture, it is nevertheless extremely 
difficult to give even an approximate Many 
number. Timms and Webb, in a St y les 
recent work illustrating furniture from about 
5000 b.c. down to the present day, give 
thirty-five distinct styles. Other authorities, 
however, differ greatly. Many of the styles 

61 



62 INTERIOR DECORATION 

blend so gradually into those preceding and 
succeeding, that, if a line is drawn between 
them at all, it must be purely arbitrary. 

The furniture of the ancient has little 
bearing upon our needs to-day — a fortunate 
F . circumstance, considering our meager 

of Ancient knowledge. We know that the 
looted to Egyptians constructed their house- 
Modern hold furniture in stone, the Greeks 
and Romans in marble and bronze, 
and the people of the Middle Ages in wood. 
Little of the furniture of that time is now in 
existence. In fact, our knowledge is chiefly 
due to old drawings, usually in the form of 
tapestries representing historical events. In 
these old records the furniture is merely a 
detail, an accessory used in the background 
to illustrate a situation. A bench or settle 
figures in an interview between a knight and a 
lady, a chair of state is rudely indicated in the 
story of a coronation ceremony, or a long 
banquet table serves as a center about which 
valiant warriors gather. Without the aid of 
these manuscripts, if they may be called such, 
all domestic furniture made prior to the 
thirteenth century would be largely a matter 
of conjecture. Fragments from many of these 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 63 

manuscripts have been fitted together, so that 

we now have a fairly clear picture of the life 

and homes of the people of that time. 

The house, or home, of the Middle Ages 

contained one large room called the heal, 

which served as a dining, living, and 
, . ...... . The Home 

sleeping apartment. Adjoining it fthe 

was the bower, or chamber for the Middle 

Ages 

ladies of the household. There was 
little furniture in the main room. A long 
rude table, composed of a board laid upon 
trestles, occupied the center of the floor, and 
about it were placed rough stools and benches 
for the members of the family with the excep- 
tion of the lord and his lady. For them were 
placed two rudely constructed chairs, usually 
the only chairs in the house. The walls were 
hung with cloths or tapestries bearing legends 
of the time, which served to keep out wind and 
cold. A hearth fire placed below an opening 
in the roof furnished the necessary warmth, 
and illumination was provided by means of 
torches and extremely primitive lamps. 

The bower contained a bed, sometimes a 
bench or stool, and always a chest 
of some kind. The chest was the 
most important article in the house and hid 
all valued possessions. 



64 INTERIOR DECORATION 

Toward the latter part of the Middle Ages 
the chairs and chests were decorated to some 

extent. The Gothic style of archi- 
nkfgsof tecture became the vogue, and the 
Gothic pointed or Gothic arch and Gothic 

carving were introduced into the con- 
struction of furniture. The English corona- 
tion chair, showing the arch and the quatrefoil, 
an ornamental foliation having four lobes or 
foils, was built at this period, and happily 
has not been destroyed in succeeding cen- 
turies. 

During the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, 
fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, the Gothic 

style of architecture endured. The 
Gothic pointed arch, the trefoil, the quatre- 
style foil, and simple tracery were used 

upon massive furniture, the Gothic treatment 
being confined mostly to decoration, the con- 
struction little affected by it. Toward the 
close of the fifteenth century the carving 
became heavy and more complicated, the 
lines of the furniture less beautiful, and ani- 
mals and grotesque heads were combined with 
Gothic details. 

The plan of the home remained much the 
same, distinctly feudal in character. Chests 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 65 

became elaborately carved and inlaid. Beds 
were surrounded by carved and latticed walls. 
Rude tables took the place of the Much 
board and trestle, and the chairs 0rna - 

1 -iii • i mental 

were heavily laden with ornamenta- carving 
tion. Only one distinctly new article Used 
of furniture seems to have appeared during 
these two centuries, and that was the cupboard, 
upon which a wealth of ornament and detail 
was heaped. 

Toward the end of the fifteenth century a 
great change took place in all handcraft. A 
new force born in Italy gradually TheRe . 
spread throughout Europe and sup- naissance 
planted Gothic art. The Renais- mItdy 
sance was a sudden spontaneous outburst of 
intellectual energy in the arts and inventions, 
knowledge and books, which had long lain 
neglected during the Middle Ages. The 
awakening began in Italy, and the whole coun- 
try seemed all at once to be endowed with 
an instinct for the beautiful, and also with 
the capacity for producing it in every form. 
From Italy the reform wave spread rapidly to 
France and Spain, then to Germany and the 
Low Countries, and at last to England and 
the new world of America. 



66 INTERIOR DECORATION 

One often hears the Renaissance spoken of 
as a thing of the past, but we are still in the 
Furniture onward movement although the first 
Designs vigor is over. At the first no article 

were 

adapted of furniture was too commonplace to 
to Use receive the attention of the greatest 
artists of the day. Designs were made with 
reference to their setting, and the furniture 
for the home became less heavy and clumsy, 
so that it no longer was suggestive of the 
cathedral or the abbey. The household ap- 
pointments were for the first time in history 
made with a careful regard for the needs of 
the owner, his station in life, and his manner 
of living. The homes of the early Renaissance 
began to take on a harmony as a whole, as 
well as a wealth of exquisite detail, which had 
hitherto been absent, but which we of the 
present day are still striving to perfect. 

Before many years had passed, homes began 
to look more comfortable. Chairs, benches, 
and tables were loosened from their stiff 
positions against the walls, and new furniture 
was invented and added, as occasion and need 
arose. Chairs became upholstered, tables 
gained more beautiful lines and exquisite 
carving, and cabinets and chests of drawers 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 67 

augmented the old cupboard, and dower 
coffers. Clocks, mirrors, and screens became 
universal. In the palaces all was luxurious 
beauty. Sunken panels in the woodwork 
were ornamented by carved rosettes in high 
relief, often gilded. The halls were hung 
with exquisite tapestries and massively framed 
pictures, and the horizontal beaming of the 
ceilings, in its complexity, has come down to 
the present time as a beautiful example of 
the period. 

From Italy, the spirit of the Renaissance 
spread to France, but here the transitional 
period was of longer duration, due _. _ 

r e> 9 TheFrench 

to the Gothic art being more firmly Renais- 
rooted in France than in the south. sance 
The ornamental woodwork of the French in 
the early years of the Renaissance differs 
strongly from the Italian work of the same 
period. It is lighter, more delicate, the 
carving more open, and the whole less depend- 
ent upon the antique models. In the cabi- 
nets the furniture makers seem to have 
reveled especially in use of their talent. 
The construction of ,this article gave oppor- 
tunity for artistic shaping and decoration 
which was impossible in bed, chair, or table. 



68 INTERIOR DECORATION 

The great devotion of time and skill which 
the medieval workmen spent upon the 
chest was now lavished upon the cabinet of 
the Renaissance. 

In Germany, and the Low Countries, as in 
Spain also, the Renaissance developed on 
The Re- original lines. A simpler, sturdier 
naissance form arose than that of France and 
many and Italy. Heads and grotesque masks 
Spain were introduced with good effect 
into cabinet work. Marquetry was excelled 
in by the Dutch, and in Flanders a distinct 
type of chair arose with turned woodwork 
and cane seat and back. The Flemish style, 
more than any other, influenced the Spanish 
Renaissance. There are many chairs from 
that period, the woodwork much like those 
in Flanders, the back and seat of stamped or 
carved leather. 

By the beginning of the sixteenth century 
the Renaissance had reached England, and a 
E style arose there called the Tudor, 
lish Re- which was a mingling of the Italian, 
naissance French? and Flemish, the latter pre- 
dominating. We Americans are especially 
interested in this style because the chairs 
which the first colonists brought over from 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 69 

England belong to this period, and the carved 
chairs made in this country in the early days 
show the Flemish-Tudor influence. 

This style became more fixed and distinctly 
English after Elizabeth came to the throne. 
From that time on it was known The Eliza- 
as the Elizabethan, but there is bethan 
really no distinction. A style of styIe 
carving known as the linen fold and the strap 
work was used especially upon cabinets. 

The Jacobean style was an outgrowth of 
the Elizabethan, and was very similar, but 
of a lighter and more graceful con- The 
struction. This style endured from Jacobean 
the accession of James I until the style 
end of the seventeenth century. The " thou- 
sand-legged table," in England called the 
"gate-leg table," is a product of this period 
as was also the wainscot chair, a combination 
chair and table in which the back of the seat 
formed the top of the table. The turned 
furniture legs of the Flemish naturally gave 
rise to the more graceful spiral leg. The 
finest type of spiral was carved by hand and 
was very beautiful. It was used for tables, 
chairs, and elevated cupboards. English oak 
was the chief material, but later in the seven- 



70 INTERIOR DECORATION 

teenth century a great change was made by 
the introduction of walnut. This did not 
lend itself to easy carving, so paneling and 
marquetry, with applied drops, spindles, and 
nail heads were used. 

The seventeenth century closed with the 
furniture of Louis XIV, a style which ever 
The Louis since that day has been misunder- 

XIV style stood and misused. It was designed 
by a man named Andre Boulle, who, with 
his brother artists, perfected a type well 
suited to pompous and luxurious court life. 
It was heavily ornamented with shell and 
brass in what was called the rococo style of 
decoration. The legs of tables and chairs 
were at first straight and then carved, inlaid 
and veneered with gilt or brass. The furni- 
ture, although ornate, was consistent with 
its surroundings, and was not without beauty, 
inasmuch as beauty of construction was 
never lost sight of. 

By the time of the beginning of the reign 
of Louis XV French furniture had changed 
The Louis somewhat in its character. Decora- 

XV Style t i on grew more and more ornate, 
and the magnificent and stately extravagance 
of Louis XIV turned into a daintier but no 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 71 

less extravagant style. There was more vari- 
ety in design and a larger use of carved metal 
ornament and gilt bronze. Shells, shaped 
foliage, roses, seaweed, and strings of pearls 
elaborated all designs, and were introduced 
principally by Charles Cressant, a great 
artist of that time. There are still existing 
many beautiful examples of his work. Some 
of the wood which he used was left in the 
natural finish, but more often it was painted, 
enameled, gilded, and carved. The legs of 
his chairs were curved and the arms and 
backs were also curved, carved, and gilded. 
Gobelin, Ambusson, and Beauvais tapestry, 
with Watteau designs, were used for the uphol- 
stery. An air of gayety, richness, extrava- 
gance, and beauty was given by all the furniture 
of this time, which, while not fitting in with 
our modern ideas of beauty as applied to use, 
still was well adapted to its own time. 

Toward the latter part of the reign of 
Louis XV the furniture became too Transition 
excessively rococo in style, due to g£^ of 
the influence of another artist, Jules Louis XV 
Aurele Meissonier, who brought into *° L ^.® 
French use some phases of the xvi 
decadent Italian taste of that time. He 



72 INTERIOR DECORATION 

believed in putting curves and convolutions 
everywhere, broke up all straight lines, and 
disregarded all rules of symmetry. He car- 
ried the rococo style to its limit in lavish 
decoration, and as his power of invention was 
marvelous, his output of designs was very 
great. The furniture designed after the 
ideas of this man was not beautiful and is 
too often accepted by people to-day as the 
typical style of Louis XV. The greatest 
contribution of this later furniture of Louis 
XV was of a negative character. By its 
extreme extravagance it brought about a 
reaction against the ornate rococo school 
which influenced all succeeding furniture 
making. 

Louis XVI furniture is in pleasant con- 
trast. It was characterized by simplicity 
The Louis of construction and severity of orna- 
xvi style m ent. The rococo details disap- 
peared, and once more antique models were 
sought for decorations as well as for forms. 
Straight lines replaced flowing scrolls, hori- 
zontal bands superseded fantastic moldings, 
cupid and rose-garlanded panels gave way to 
rectangular spaces decorated with classic 
emblems. In chairs and tables the sup- 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 73 

ports were fluted, tapering slightly at the 
base. The oak leaf, laurel, and bay leaf were 
often used in the scheme of decoration. Gild- 
ing, inlay, and enamel were still often used, 
but during this period the first mahogany 
was imported, and many beautiful pieces of 
furniture were constructed of the new wood 
alone. The furniture of Louis XVI shows 
its relationship very strongly to the furniture 
of Louis XV. It is quite remarkable that a 
style which was the direct outgrowth of a 
former period should have so completely 
absorbed all of the good qualities and none 
of the bad qualities of its predecessor. 

During this time the furniture of the Dutch 
people had been finding its way into Eng- 
land and influencing English design. The Queen 
But it was not until the reign of Aime st y le 
Queen Anne that the Dutch and English 
designs were completely assimilated. For 
this reason the perfected style was known 
by the name of the sovereign reigning at 
that period. The Queen Anne furniture was 
of great simplicity and grace. The earliest 
chairs and tables had cabriole legs and 
plain Dutch feet, and the chairs had the 
solid splat and spoon-shaped back with 



74 INTERIOR DECORATION 

rounded ends to the top. In the later Queen 
Anne chairs a modified Spanish foot was 
sometimes used. A small amount of carv- 
ing was sometimes used in decoration, but 
it was always subordinated greatly to the 
graceful lines of the furniture. 

The Chippendale brothers of England, in 
their earliest work, copied to a great extent 
the Queen Anne models with cab- 
pendaie riole legs and modified Dutch feet, 
style Very soon, however, they developed 

their own originality and used the ball and 
claw foot, and pierced and carved the splat 
in the chair back. Later, the straight-legged 
Chippendale chair came into favor, and the 
Chinese art influenced the carving, making 
it more delicate and fantastic. The later 
chairs also showed French and Gothic tend- 
encies, and were not nearly as successful as 
the early models. The chief characteristic 
of the Chippendale chair is usually a pierced 
splat richly, and often fantastically, carved, 
surmounted by a bow-shaped top-piece turn- 
ing down in the middle and up at the ends. 
The one exception is what is called the ladder- 
back chair, but in this, too, the bow-shaped 
feature is distinct. 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 75 

The Chippendale brothers worked entirely 
in mahogany, that wood having been imported 
for the first time just before their Theinflu- 
dav. If they had had to work in !, nc ! of 

Environ- 
either oak or walnut, it is doubtful mentupon 

if the results would have been so ^ terials 
beautiful. Each style is greatly in- Designs 
fluenced by its own environment, and it is 
amusing to know that the reason Chippen- 
dale and other furniture makers of the 
eighteenth century constructed their chairs 
with broadly spreading arms, made them 
without arms entirely, and also invented 
the settee, was because the women of that 
day wore immense hoop skirts ! 

Scarcely less beautiful than the Chippen- 
dale style is the Hepplewhite. Hepple- 
white's work is more delicate and _- „ 

1 • tt J • 1 rr The He P" 

dainty. He used mlay very enec- piewhite 
tively, straight, tapering legs and style 
spade feet. His shield-shaped chairs have 
brought him the greatest renown, perhaps, with 
the exception of his serpentine sideboards, 
which are strikingly graceful. He worked with 
a man named Shearer, whose eye for propor- 
tion was indisputable. It is unfortunate that 
Hepplewhite's construction was often faulty. 



76 INTERIOR DECORATION 

The work of Hepplewhite was greatly 
influenced by two architects of the middle 
The Adam P art of the eighteenth century. 
st y le James Adam and his brother Robert 

probably never designed the furniture which 
is attributed to them, but to them was 
largely due the reaction that took place at 
this time, — a sudden great impetus toward 
simplicity and classic forms. The style was 
similar in many respects to that of Louis 
XVI. The straight line, the arabesque scroll- 
work, the gayety, lightness, and formality 
are common to both. The essence of the 
Adam style might be said to be simplicity, 
elegant slenderness, and low relief. The arm 
is an important ornament; the bell flower, 
delicate scrolls, drapery, the fluted shell, and 
medallion. Lions' and eagles' claws are used 
for feet. 

The influence of the Adams on the furni- 
ture makers of their time was very marked. 
The Shera- Sheraton did not imitate them, but 
ton Style h e embodied in his furniture a true 
Adam feeling for simplicity. While Sheraton 
was the last of the trio of great master furni- 
ture makers of the eighteenth century, he 
certainly cannot be said to be least. In 




<~ 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 77 

fact, some authorities maintain that while 
Chippendale and Hepplewhite were fine work- 
men, Sheraton was a poet. Sheraton carved, 
painted, and inlaid his furniture, using, and 
often improving upon, the ideas of his two 
great predecessors. He seldom used the 
shield back of Hepplewhite, and never the 
pierced splat back of Chippendale. While 
Chippendale avoided the straight line, Shera- 
ton used it a great deal. His chairs are al- 
most always distinguished by a straight top 
to the back, and rectangular legs. In his 
sideboards, tables, and desks where curved 
lines were used, he introduced the fluted 
column of Louis XVI. His furniture always 
seems thoroughly consistent in design, that 
final test of consummate art. 

The last great epoch in furniture making 
arose in the early days of the nineteenth 
century. It was influenced by the Th 
French Revolution, and victory is Empire 
stamped over all its furniture in the ^ 
form of wreaths and torches or other warlike 
emblems. The Empire artists lauded the 
classics as never before, and Roman and 
Grecian decorations were used lavishly. 
Marquetry was discarded, but plain surfaces 



78 INTERIOR DECORATION 

were covered with massive carving. In its 
plainer form the Empire type was dignified 
and full of beauty, having qualities of repose 
and stability which outranked some of its 
predecessors. It is to be regretted that, 
toward the last, the decorations came to be 
extravagant, even to the grotesque. The 
Empire style probably had more effect upon 
furniture making in America than any other. 
It came at a time when the industry on this 
side of the water was at its height, and con- 
sequently a large majority of the so-called 
colonial furniture is of this type. 

After the Empire, there was no other dis- 
tinctive style of any value produced during 
the remainder of the nineteenth 

Transition 

to Modern century. There was a great quan- 
styies t - t y £ f urn i ture manufactured, but 

it was a sad combination of many old forms 
and little thought. The result was the large 
number of black walnut pieces, carved and 
decorated with countless turned "icicle" pen- 
dants and the stamped and inlaid light oak 
furniture. In the past few years two rather 
fantastic modes have come somewhat into 
favor, the British New Art andL'Art Nouveau. 
These can hardly be ranked as furniture 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF FURNITURE 79 

styles, but rather as fads running parallel 
with the present craze for hand-beaten metal 
wear and jewelry. Mission furniture, too, 
has achieved a great popularity, and very 
suitably fills the need for a cheap but durable 
style. 

Historians predict that, because of the 
unusual prosperity of our present time, there 
will soon come a great reaction from a New Re- 
rapid money making toward art for naissance 
art's sake. If their prophecy is correct, the 
twentieth century may still give us furni- 
ture makers whose work will rank with that 
of Chippendale, Sheraton, and Hepplewhite. 

REFERENCES 
Clifford, C. R. 
Period Furnishings. 
Clifford & Lawton, New York, 1915. 
Colonial, p. 203. 
Gothic Designs, p. 64. 
Eberlein, Harold Donaldson, and 
McClure, Abbot 
The Practical Book of Period Furniture. 

J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia & London, 1914. 
Periods, Chapters II-XIV. 

KlMERLY, W. L. 

How to Know Period Styles in Furniture. 
Grand Rapids Furniture Record Co., Grand Rapids, 
Mich., 1913. 
Typical Examples. 



80 INTERIOR DECORATION 

Macquoid, Percy 

History of English Furniture. 

Lawrence & Bullen, London, 1906. 
Age of Oak, Vol. I. 
Age of Walnut, Vol. II. 
Age of Mahogany, Vol. III. 



CHAPTER VII 

MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 

Types of the Antiques which are Reproduced — Con- 
sistent Use of Period Styles in the Various Rooms 
of the Home — Bisymmetric and Occult Balance — 
Comfort. 

There are a very few families at the present 
time where rare old furniture has descended 
from generation to generation in any . ^ 

. f f - , J Antiques 

considerable quantity, and the pur- and Re- 
chase of genuine antiques is often P foductlons 
out of the question. Indeed, the seeker after 
old furniture must ever be on guard, for the 
manufacture of so-called antiques has come 
to be a most clever and flourishing industry. 
As with the antique oriental rug, antique 
furniture should be purchased only from a 
reliable dealer. Unlike the oriental rugs, 
however, which have never been satisfac- 
torily imitated, the period furniture which is 
turned out in our factories to-day is in every 
way as beautiful as the rare old pieces of our 
forefathers. The designs are good, and true 

G Si 



82 INTERIOR DECORATION 

to type, and the wood is strong and beautiful 

in grain, while the masterful polishing which 

brings out the exquisite markings is far 

ahead of the ancient finish. 

In the reproductions of old furniture, it is 

noticeable that the manufacture of the most 

beautiful and suitable styles is be- 
The More . , , ., 

Simple coming greater year by year, while 

Types the types of lesser merit are grad- 
ually disappearing. The elaborate 
and heavily carved furniture of the early 
Italian and French days is not now often 
reproduced, and of the later periods, the most 
simple designs are retained. Each one of 
the old masters made many designs, a few 
of which were good, and many of which were 
poor. The finest furniture was usually built 
on plain, strong lines, and it is from these 
pieces that the manufacturer of to-day selects 
his models. 

Furniture of different periods is adapted 

to various types of homes. The greatest 

sense of unity can often be ob- 

Consistent , . , , * 

Use of tamed in a home by planning gar- 
Period den, house, and furnishings to con- 
form to one certain period. The 
absurdity of a Japanese garden and a house 



MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 83 

built on the lines of a Swiss chalet and filled 
with colonial furniture is apparent at once, 
and yet mistakes equally great are often 
made. The landscape gardener of to-day is 
fortunately furthering a sentiment for unity 
between house and grounds, and the interior 
decorator carries that idea one step farther 
to the inside of the house as well. 

Each type of furniture of the chosen period 
contains enough styles to furnish all of the 
different rooms of a home. There The Use of 
are heavy and more formal pieces Different 
which are suitable for the hall, dig- the Same 
nified chairs and tables for the din- Period 
ing room, and lighter furniture for the living 
rooms and bedrooms. There is the greatest 
economy in the purchase of furniture of one 
period for the entire house, because the pieces 
are interchangeable between the various 
rooms. Articles from the bedrooms may be 
used in the living room when desired, and 
the chairs belonging to the dining room suite, 
when not in daily use, may serve the purpose 
of straight chairs in living room and hall. 
The sense of unity given by similar furnish- 
ing also adds greatly to the apparent size of 
the house, as the observer passes from room 



84 INTERIOR DECORATION 

to room. Some of the manufacturers of this 
country are making a specialty of designing 
period furniture for the entire house. The 
complete list of furniture may be purchased 
from the one firm with a minimum of expense 
and worry, and additional pieces may easily 
be obtained whenever desired. The same 
firms will also make special adaptations 
in design, woods, and stains to suit the 
needs of the particular house which is to be 
furnished. 

To some people, however, the entire house 
furnished in one period seems rather monot- 
Furniture onous, and more variety is desired. 

styles of j n tn j s case different rooms may be 
Different . . . . * 

Periods furnished in the various periods. In 

of" 7 lar S e livin S rooms Chippendale, 
Together Hepplewhite, Sheraton, and Adam 
furniture may sometimes be used together, 
and chairs and tables of Louis XIV, XV, and 
XVI will often blend well, but any further 
mixture of furniture will usually produce 
results disastrous to unity and harmony. 
It is only styles which are so closely related 
that there are many points in common in 
their structure and decoration, which may 
be successfully placed in the same room. 



MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 85 

In general it is best to use only one style in 
each room, and certain styles have been 
found to be especially well adapted to par- 
ticular rooms. 

The hall is the most formal room in the 
house, and, in even the very unpretentious 

home, should have a dignity which is 

+U I T* • +U The Hall 

given to no other place. It is the 
entrance to the house, and so should bespeak 
the character of the inner rooms to a certain 
extent, but should preserve an atmosphere 
of stateliness, suited to a room which is not 
intended for rest or recreation. Very little 
furniture is desirable in the hall, but that 
which is placed there should be suited to the 
character of the place so that it seems really 
a part of the architectural plan. Some of 
the early Italian and Spanish chairs, tables, 
and chests are admirably adapted for formal 
use in the modern hall, and the Tudor and 
Jacobean English furniture with the Flemish 
chairs of the same period are also suitable. 
Of the eighteenth-century furniture, the 
early types of Chippendale and Queen Anne 
have a certain air of stateliness, and the heavier 
pieces of colonial furniture are also built 
along lines of dignity. The hall is really a 



86 INTERIOR DECORATION 

passageway used to form a connection be- 
tween the various rooms of the house, and 
this should be remembered in selecting its 
furniture. It should be so furnished that it ex- 
tends an impersonal hospitality to the person 
who enters, but gives only a hint of the spirit 
which is manifested in the privacy of the 
rooms beyond. 

Next to the hall the dining room should 
be the most formal room in the house. It 
The Dining should be bright and cheerful and in 
Room harmony with the adjoining rooms, 

but should also have a certain dignity of its 
own in selection and arrangement of furni- 
ture. As there should be almost no attempt 
at decoration in this room, the table, chairs, 
and other necessary furniture stand out in 
strong relief and so perhaps should be the 
most carefully chosen of any furniture in 
the house. Flemish and Jacobean furniture 
are popular for dining room use because the 
dull oak used in these types is easily cared for. 
In mahogany the colonial furniture is most 
often used, but it is not as distinctive as the 
Chippendale, Adam, Hepplewhite, and Shera- 
ton. Hepplewhite and Sheraton, being rather 
light in construction, should be used only in 



MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 87 

comparatively small rooms so they may not 

appear trivial in the formal arrangement. 

The furniture of the time of Louis XIV may 

also be used in dining rooms. Although it 

is rather elaborate, it is also heavy enough 

for this use, but especial care should be taken 

with the selection of rugs, wall decorations, 

and window hangings so that there shall be 

entire harmony. 

There can be no pleasing harmony in a 

room unless the laws of balance are observed 

in the arrangement of the furniture „. 

1 11 1 • a • Bisymmet- 

and wall decorations. A room is ricBai- 
only in balance when its furnishings ""* 
are so arranged that there is an equalization 
between attractions. Balance may be di- 
vided into two general types — bisymmetric 
and occult. Bisymmetric balance is gained 
by a mechanical arrangement of like parts in 
like manner about a center. Occult balance 
is gained by aesthetic sense of proportion. 
The dining room is the one place in the house 
where bisymmetric balance is most important 
and where it may be used without danger of 
too great formality and stiffness. No matter 
how small the dining room may be, it always 
has greater charm when the furniture is 



88 INTERIOR DECORATION 

arranged with dignity. To secure perfect 
bisymmetric form, the table should be placed 
in the exact center of the room and an imag- 
inary line should then be drawn cutting the 
room into two equal parts. The chairs, 
serving tables, and buffets should then be 
arranged in like position on either side of the 
room, so that one piece of furniture balances 
another. This rule cannot be followed abso- 
lutely, of course, but adaptations may be 
made to conform to the architectural details. 
Where there are attractively curtained win- 
dows on one side of the room they may be 
balanced by an interesting buffet or a wall 
decoration placed opposite. Several chairs 
may be grouped formally to balance a large 
piece of furniture. In all adaptations and 
applications of this principle, however, it 
will be found that the simplest arrangements 
are the best. There is a greater sense 
of repose, of rest, in the dining room where 
there is to be found only the absolutely 
necessary pieces of furniture, formally ar- 
ranged. 

The living room, on the other hand, is 
that room in the house where a fine sense of 
occult balance is needed to create an atmos- 






MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 89 

phere of rest and charm, reflecting the indi- 
vidual tastes and interests of the various 
occupants of the room, but preserv- 

.1 . , The Living 

ing at the same time a unity of Room and 
meaning. The living room, of all ° ccult 

. , , in Balance 

rooms in the house, should never seem 
formal, and yet, if the laws of balance are 
not observed, the greatest confusion in the 
selection and arrangement of the furniture 
is bound to result. 

Colonial or sixteenth century English fur- 
niture is usually the most suitable for the 
living room. The modern colonial 
furniture of to-day is usually a quite Furniture 
faithful copy of the furniture made for the 
by our Puritan fathers. It was an Room: 
adaptation and an outgrowth of the Colon jal 
furniture made by Chippendale, teenth 

Hepplewhite, and Sheraton which S; 611 ,^ 
, 1 1 • 1 English 

was brought over to this country by 

the colonists. The Adam and Queen Anne 
styles were also adapted to the new use in 
the same way that the others were — by 
eliminating all unnecessary ornament and 
strengthening the lines and proportions so 
that they should fit into the plain and prim- 
itive life of the new world. For this reason 



90 INTERIOR DECORATION 

colonial and sixteenth century furniture may 
easily be used in the same room. Their 
close relation in origin makes them fit in well 
together. 

French furniture is not so suitable for liv- 
ing room use. It is too ornate, too elaborate 
French in the early styles, and too delicate 
Furniture j n t h e later productions, for the 
everyday life of a household. It is better 
used in formal reception rooms. French 
furniture is usually much more expensive 
than English and colonial furniture, for only 
the most expert craftsman can reproduce 
French motives and styles with a truly 
aesthetic accuracy. This again is another 
reason against using it in the living room. 
Good colonial furniture is comparatively 
inexpensive because of the greater ease with 
which it may be practically evolved. 

Some reproductions of early Italian furni- 
ture are also very fine in the modern living 
Italian room. There is a certain strength of 
Furniture j me anc j solidity of structure found 
in the productions of the Italian Renaissance 
which partakes of the spirit of the present 
times, and gives promise of a more general 
use in our house furnishings in the future. 



MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 91 

In arranging the furniture of the living 
room in order to obtain the result of occult 
balance, there should be, as in a 
room arranged in bisymmetric bal- btain° 
ance, an axis which centers the inter- ° cc "it 
est and about which the rest of the 
furniture is grouped. In a dining room, 
the axis of interest is always the table, which 
should be invariably placed in the center of 
the room. In the living room the axis of 
interest is very seldom placed in the center, 
but is at one side or at one end of the room. 
A well-proportioned fireplace is perhaps the 
most usual and most successful main point 
of interest for the living room. A large 
table with a reading lamp and an easy chair 
may serve equally well, or a piano in daily 
use may prove the dominant note to give 
occult balance to the point of interest in a 
room. All other furnishings should be sub- 
ordinate to that interest, but should be so 
placed as to balance in seeming weight. If a 
grand piano is placed at one end of a room, 
there should be several groups of lesser in- 
terest at the other end of the room so that 
the weight of the piano will seem balanced. 
In a room which is poorly arranged in this 



92 INTERIOR DECORATION 

way there is a feeling of tipping given, which 
is very unpleasant. A large tapestry or rug 
hung upon the wall opposite a heavy fireplace 
will often preserve a sense of balance, or 
even a single bowl of flowers properly placed 
in the room may give the secondary interest 
needed. 

Comfort should be of the greatest impor- 
tance in furnishing the living room. The 
chairs should be inviting and restful 
and should be so placed as to be 
equally desirable for reading in the daylight 
or evening hours. Wherever possible, table 
lights should always be used, as the glow of a 
reading lamp is second only in creating the 
homelike atmosphere to the hearth fire itself. 
Only big restful pictures which every member 
of the family enjoys should be placed upon 
the walls, and the draperies, rugs, and furni- 
ture should reflect the character of the people 
who use them. The best of its kind should 
be there, but nothing too good for daily use 
should ever be placed in a living room, for 
it should be the most used room in the whole 
house, with the possible exception of the 
library, if the house be the home of people 
much given to reading or study. 



MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 93 

The library should have the same spirit of 
repose as the living room, but at the same time 
should be furnished in a manner to The 
give greater dignity and solidity. Librai y 
The interest in the room should center en- 
tirely about the books, for which the room 
exists. Unless there are many books it is 
ridiculous to name the room in which they 
are placed a library. If there is only one 
small case of volumes, it might better find its 
home in the living room. So, too, a library 
the walls of which are lined with many books 
behind locked doors is wrongly named. It 
is an affectation hardly better than the rooms 
of certain people of past times who filled their 
shelves with beautifully bound dummies. 
Indeed it is questionable if the glass-inclosed 
bookcases, even though the key be perma- 
nently lost, can ever equal the open bookcase 
in the spirit of ready companionship. The 
literary friends seem slightly removed and 
the slight effort of opening a door to reach 
them seems to place them apart to a certain 
extent. The glass-inclosed bookcase is, of 
course, much more sanitary, and the life of 
precious volumes is lengthened by the ab- 
sence of the daily grind of dust, so there is a 



94 INTERIOR DECORATION 

conflict between the practical and the aes- 
thetic in the minds of the householder who 
would have the best kind of a library in his 
home. 

Bookcases which are built into the walls as 
a part of the house are of course always 
best. They should be of the same 
finish as the woodwork and take 
their part as a feature of the architectural 
construction. In many homes, however, a 
room is taken for library use which had been 
originally intended for some other purpose. 
It is then that bookcases as pieces of furniture 
must be used. There are many cases on the 
market both with and without doors which 
are built on lines of antique and modern de- 
signs. Perhaps the most satisfactory shelves, 
however, are given by the sectional bookcases, 
of which there is now a great variety. They 
are manufactured after designs conforming 
to every style of period furniture and in all 
possible woods and finishes. Although the 
sections fitted together take up slightly more 
room than the single bookcases, there is the 
advantage that additional sections may be 
added from time to time as books accumulate. 
The architectural structure of the room may 



MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 95 

also be followed easily and sections may 
successfully be fitted underneath windows 
and in odd places where large cases could 
not be placed. Where cases of either kind 
are used in the library, they should, as pieces 
of furniture, be matched by the rest of the 
furniture in the room in wood, finish, and 
style. 

Only the most dignified styles of furniture 
should be used in the library ; furniture hav- 
ing rather strong and heavy lines. 
Sheraton and Hepplewhite pieces, suitable 
for example, are too dainty, as is also f ° r the 
furniture of the Louis XVI period. 
The designs of the time of Louis XV are also 
unsuitable because of ornate decorations, 
but some of the heavier furniture of Louis 
XIV has been successfully used for this 
purpose. Chippendale, Queen Anne, Wil- 
liam and Mary, Jacobean, and some of the 
Adam styles are all very well adapted for 
library use, and designs following the spirit 
of the early Italian and Spanish models are 
admirable. Colonial furniture is always cor- 
rect, as indeed it is for almost any room in 
the house, because of its many variations 
in shape and style. 



96 INTERIOR DECORATION 

There should be great simplicity in the fur- 
nishing of the library. In the center of the 
room there should be a substantial 
table covered with a flat mat which 
does not slip, or, better still, with no covering 
at all. On the table there should be a good 
reading lamp, and to it there should be drawn 
up comfortable chairs placed so that the light 
will be good for reading in either daylight or 
evening hours. Beyond the addition of a 
foot rest or two and possibly one small side 
table and several straight chairs there should 
be no other furniture in the room. On the 
walls there may be one or two fine large 
engravings — the portrait of some noted 
thinker, or the replica of some great archi- 
tectural triumph. Above the fireplace there 
might be the bust of one of the early phi- 
losophers, or something else which would 
reflect the interests of the persons who find 
their inspiration in the books which the room 
shelters. There should be no "pretty 
things," no bric-a-brac, to destroy the dig- 
nity of the room and to take away from its 
essential feeling of repose and seclusion. 

The bedrooms of the home should also 
have a feeling of repose and seclusion, but 



MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 97 

here there need not be such an atmosphere 
of dignity. Gay-colored chintzes may be 
hung at the windows, the most frivo- The 
lous of French furniture is often Bedf oom 
not too dainty or too ornate, and the indi- 
vidual tastes of the occupant of the room 
should be reflected in every detail of the 
furnishing until the room seems a personal 
part of its owner. To many older men and 
women of rather puritanical ideas, the colonial 
furniture of our forefathers seems most ap- 
propriate, the simple lines of the Queen Anne 
and the sturdy style of Chippendale may 
reflect the character of some other indi- 
viduals, while the dainty carving of Hepple- 
white or the dresden loveliness of Louis XVI 
seems often the very embodiment of the spirit 
of the daughter of the household. As a usual 
thing, each bedroom, being a distinct unit in 
itself, should contain only one type of furniture, 
that type selected with reference to the user. 

When there are several guest rooms, they 
may each be furnished in different styles, 
styles to suit various types of per- Types of 
sonalities, but where the home is so f^^ 6 
small as to boast only one guest Bedroom 
room, this room should be furnished in 



98 INTERIOR DECORATION 

one safe style, such as colonial or English, 
which would be fairly appropriate to any 
guest. The dainty white guest chamber with 
furniture of very slender lines may be lovely 
for the girl guest, but the man who is forced 
to spend a night in a room furnished in that 
fashion must feel sadly out of place. 

The furnishings of the whole house should 
first reflect and conform to the spirit of the 
The Use of members of the household, but 
Furniture should then be planned with a cer- 
Person- " tain amount of consideration for the 
^ guests and friends of the family. 

The home of the members of a family is the 
outward expression of their personality, a 
manifestation of their good will, coopera- 
tion with, and courtesy toward, each other 
as close relatives and toward those of the 
outside world who enter at times into the 
home circle. 

REFERENCES 

De Wolfe, Elsie 

The House in Good Taste. 

The Century Company, New York, 1913. 
Reproductions, Chapter XVII. 
Arrangement, Chapter XI. 
Suitability, Chapter II. 



MODERN PERIOD FURNITURE AND ITS USE 99 

McClure, Abbott, and 
Eberlein, Harold Donaldson 
House Furnishing and Decoration. 

McBride, Nast & Company, New York, 1914. 
Arrangement, Chapter XV. 
Parsons, Frank Alvah 

Interior Decoration, Its Principles and Practice. 

Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, N. Y., 191 5. 
Balance, Bisymmetric and Occult, Part I, Chapter III. 
Robinson, L. Eugene 
Domestic Architecture. 
The Macmillan Company. 

Planning and Arrangement, Chapter XII. 
Wright, Richardson 

Inside the House of Good Taste. 

McBride, Nast & Company, New York, 191 5. 
Comfort, p. 1. 
Personality, p. 97. 

Note. — The furniture of the various periods described in 
the two foregoing chapters is shown in the following illus- 
trations : 

Adam Illustrations facing pages 86, 90 

American Empire Illustration facing page 21 

Chippendale Frontispiece and illustrations facing 

pages 74, 76, 87 
Colonial Illustrations facing pages 91, no, 

in 
Georgian Illustration facing page 120 

Hepplewhite Illustrations facing pages 34, J7, 90 

Jacobean Illustrations facing pages 43, 87 

Queen Anne Illustration facing page 7 

Sheraton Illustrations facing pages 20, 75, 133 

William and Mary Illustrations facing pages 6, 34, 42, 

90, 145 



CHAPTER VIII 

FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN 

A Reflection of the Spirit of To-day — Different Styles 
which may be Purchased and Their Use in the 
Home — Rugs, Upholstery, and Wall Coverings 
which Harmonize. 

Period furniture is not adapted to the use 

of all people. There are some persons of 

Furniture very modern feeling to whom the 

which spirit of the furniture of bygone 

Reflects 

the Spirit days does not seem at all appro- 
Present priate for use to-day. They want 
Day something which is to them more 

up-to-date, more truly American. For them 
there is a modern type which is admired 
and used by a great number of people who 
feel the need of an inexpensive yet pleasing 
kind of furniture. 

The mission furniture originated some 

. . thirty years ago in a little mission 

of Mission church in California. The church 

urmture wag an j^j^b^ f rame structure and 

the chairs made for it were of the sim- 

IOO 





vSjmf 1 J 1 
K 1 I 


1 - ^fl 



(Copr., iqi6, Good Furniture Magazine) 

A Sheraton Secretary and a Reed- 
bottomed Chair of Early Colonial Days. 




(Copr., 1916, Good Furniture Magazine) 
A Handsome Chippendale Secretary, 
Chair, and Table. 



FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN IOI 

plest, straight-line construction possible. Be- 
cause they were so simple they seemed to 
possess an element of beauty, and the public 
soon recognized this fact and called for other 
straight-line designs in inexpensive furniture. 
Furniture makers all over the country aban- 
doned, to some extent, the manufacture of 
much ornate, fantastically carved, light oak 
furniture, and bent their energies toward the 
making of straight-lined dark-stained mission 
furniture. Many of the designs were too 
heavy, were lacking in a fine sense of pro- 
portion, but much of the furniture was, and 
still is, good. 

Mission furniture is often wrongly used, 
however. Many people forget, or are igno- 
rant of, the fact that this style of 
- • • 11 i • i r The Proper 

furniture was originally designed lor use of 

the bungalow type of building, Mission 
where the woodwork of the rooms is 
on plain lines and is stained the same tone 
as the furniture. While mission furniture 
may seem very much at home in a western 
house, it may be entirely out of place in a 
house of the middle west, and surely would 
be incongruous in a colonial mansion of the 
east. 



102 INTERIOR DECORATION 

Where mission furniture is well adapted to 
the home in which it is placed, great care 
should be taken in selecting the rest 
Furnish- of the furnishings. Plain walls are 
ings which b es t w ith mission furniture. If fig- 
ured wall covering is especially de- 
sired, however, only that having a very con- 
ventional pattern should be selected. No 
attempt at daintiness should be made in a 
room with this type of furniture. The side 
hangings at the windows should be non-trans- 
parent, of firm weave, and, if figured, should 
be of geometric design. Some of the newer 
types of domestic rugs are more suitable for 
use with mission furniture than oriental rugs. 
Oriental rugs carry with them the spirit of 
the past and so are not appropriate for use 
with furniture of a distinctly modern type. 
The plain Wiltons with shaded borders are 
often used, but the texture of the many differ- 
ent makes of Scotch rugs seems most fitting. 

Craftsman furniture is an outgrowth of 
mission furniture. The public soon tired of 
Craftsman so much straight-lined, heavy furni- 
Furniture ture. People called for designs re- 
taining all the good qualities of the mission 
furniture, but adding a feeling of grace and a 







(Furniture designed by Helen Speer, reproduced through the courtesy of The House Beautiful) 
["his Playroom Is Large, Light, Airy, and Simply Furnished, 
wt the Rocker Has Arms with Dangerously Sharp Elbows. 




(Furniture designed by Helen Speer, reproduced through the courtesy of The House Beautiful) 
A "Baby Pen" with Chinese Counters That Would Afford Endless 
Amusement, and a Hobby-horse That Looks as Sportive as He Is Safe. 






FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN 103 

certain degree of delicacy. This demand the 

manufacturers succeeded in meeting in many 

charming instances. The shops are now filled 

with modern furniture, much of which is really 

beautiful. Sometimes this furniture is of 

entirely new design. More often each piece 

is a successful composite of many antique 

motifs, so blended that an entirely new idea 

seems to have been originated. Some of this 

craftsman furniture is heavy and substantial 

looking, some is dainty and graceful. In all 

designs, however, there is a distinct lack of 

unnecessary ornament, and the charm depends 

entirely upon the extreme simplicity. Much 

of this furniture is very inexpensive and fills 

a national want for people of limited means. 

As with mission furniture, the most simple 

draperies, rugs, and wall coverings should also 

be used with craftsman furniture. _ . . 

Consistent 

With some of the more delicate de- Use of 
signs, however, daintier backgrounds r*** 1 ^ 
are permissible in the rooms where Wall 
they are placed. ovenngs 

The principles upon which both mission 
and craftsman furniture are based are honesty 
and simplicity. The wood is of the best 
quality and the workmanship must be exact, 



104 INTERIOR DECORATION 

as any imperfections are at once noticeable 

in furniture of such simple lines. White oak 

is generally used, and in three different 
Honesty & J \ 

and tones, a soft, light brown, a rich, nut 

Simplicity b rowrij anc [ a delicate silvery gray. 

Table tops are sometimes covered with hard 
leather, and soft leather cushions are often 
used in chairs and settles. As with period 
furniture, the mission and the craftsman 
types will never go out of style because they 
in themselves represent a new American period 
of design based upon natural lines which 
give comfort and durability, adapted to the 
lives of the great class of people. There is 
little chance for change in this style in the 
years to come, for it is impossible to get far 
away from the structural lines which give the 
purpose and use of each piece, and the propor- 
tions which best serve that purpose and use 
are the proportions which it should have. 

There are several kinds of "straight line" 
furniture on the market which are also some- 
what upon the mission order, and were prob- 
ably first inspired by the early western de- 
signs. Furniture of this type comprises pieces 
which are well made, of good proportions, and 
equally possible for use in kitchen, office, or 



FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN 1 05 

living room. The dignity of their simple 
lines makes them harmonious in any setting 
which is not elaborate. 

Cottage furniture is of much the same type, 
but here there is more of an attempt to make 
it artistic. It is sometimes enam- cottage 
eled, and painted with delicate gar- Furniture 
lands in conventional designs, or the natural 
wood is used, stained in several different 
shades, and oiled. Many of the chairs in 
natural wood are modifications of the old 
Windsor style. This furniture is really in- 
spired by the furniture of our grandparents 
but is often more beautiful than the old 
pieces. It fits well a demand for a certain 
type of furniture which is inexpensive and is 
at the same time very dainty. Rag rugs are 
generally used with this kind of furniture, with 
plain walls of delicate tints and old-fashioned 
chintz hangings at the windows, with the 
same chintz used for cushions. 

Willow furniture is another class which is 
very popular and which has a distinct use in 
many modern homes. Because of willow 
its solid comfort, artistic effect, and F«niiture 
great durability it is a great favorite with 
many people. It should be remembered, 



106 INTERIOR DECORATION 

however, in using it, that it is of a distinctly 
informal type. No room in which it is used 
could be very stiff and dignified. It is very 
cheerful, however, and one of its good points 
is that it may be used upon the piazza, left 
out in the rain even, and still may be refinished 
to look as good as new with either paint or 
enamel. 

A more luxurious furniture of much the 
same kind is made of prairie grass. The 
Grass weave of this furniture is usually very 
Furniture dose, the fibers well woven together 
to withstand hard usage. It is very attrac- 
tive ; and comfortable chairs, settees, tables, 
and stools may be found in great variety. 

No indoor room except the sun parlor should 
ever be furnished with either willow or 
prairie grass furniture exclusively. 
Willow Although each piece individually 
and Grass ma y De beautiful, a whole room 
filled with chairs and tables of this 
type gives an effect of monotony and coldness. 
One or two willow or grass chairs may be used 
in an informal living room. Combined with 
mahogany they give very satisfactory results. 
White or colored willow is also charming used 
with enameled furniture of the same shade. 



FURNITURE OF MODERN DESIGN 107 

The same precaution should be observed in 
the buying of willow or grass furniture as in 
that of any other class. It is best APtew 
always to be sure that the article tionforthe 
is well made and of good material, Purchaser 
and to remember that it is more wise to pur- 
chase one chair which will stand the test of 
years of wear, than to purchase three badly 
constructed ones. The prevailing styles made 
by the most reliable manufacturers should all 
be studied before a selection is finally made. 

REFERENCES 

Clifford, C. R. 
Period Furnishings. 

Clifford & Lawton, New York, 191 5. 
Mission Furniture, p. 223. 
Arts and Crafts Furniture, p. 224. 
L/Art Nouveau Furniture, p. 217. 
Elder-Duncan, J. H. 

The House Beautiful and Useful. 

John Lane Company, New York, 1907. 
Modern Furniture, Chapter V. 
Throop, Lucy Abbot 

Furnishing the Home of Good Taste. 

McBride, Nast & Company, New York, 191 2. 
Craftsman Furniture, p. 159. 
Wallick, Ekin 

Inexpensive Furnishings in Good Taste. 

Hearst's International Library Co., New York, 1915. 
Willow Furniture, Chapter X. 



CHAPTER IX 

FURNITURE WOODS 

Mahogany — Oak — Ash — Red Gum — Walnut — Ma- 
ple — Beech — Birch — Rosewood — Veneered 
Furniture. 

The essential points which should be con- 
sidered in the purchasing of furniture for the 
home are comfort, lightness, and strength. 
Comfort and lightness are largely matters of 
design, but the strength and durability of a 
piece of furniture is mainly due to the selection 
of the wood of which it is constructed. The 
highest skill may have gone into the making 
of an individual chair or table — the different 
parts may have been so joined that the whole 
structure has become one piece, but if the wood 
appropriate for the use has not been chosen, 
the careful workmanship has been wasted. 
The prospective buyer of household furniture, 
then, should have some idea of the general 
characteristics of the more commonly used 
woods so that he may have some independent 
knowledge to supplement information given 
by dealers. 

108 



FURNITURE WOODS 109 

Probably the best known of all the furni- 
ture woods is mahogany. It is so well known 
that a description of its appearance 

r™ Mahogany 

is unnecessary. Ine most expen- 
sive and best known of the mahoganies is the 
Spanish. The cheapest wood of this variety 
is the Honduras, or the Baywood, as it is com- 
monly called. The Spanish mahogany comes 
from the West Indies and is very beautifully 
figured. The Honduras mahogany has little 
attractive marking and is a much softer wood 
than the Spanish mahogany. However, it 
is usually free from knots and other 
defects and is well adapted for furniture- 
making where plainness is not objection- 
able. Compared with the finer varieties of 
this wood, the grain is rather open and coarse, 
but it is used for much of the less expensive 
furniture and is often employed for the 
foundation work in veneered furniture of fine 
quality and for the backs of cabinets or other 
parts which are not generally exposed to 
view. There are many varieties of ma- 
hogany, ranging from the finest to that cost- 
ing little more than the best pine. It is all 
good furniture wood and takes a high degree 
of finish. 



IIO INTERIOR DECORATION 

Oak, like mahogany, is so well known 

that a description is not necessary. Oaks 

of all kinds are becoming quite ex- 
Oak . , j.i 

pensive and are now used with care 

which would have astpnished our colonial 
forefathers, to whom oak was the common- 
est building material. White Oak is the 
strongest, toughest, and most durable. It is 
characterized by its figure, which consists of 
hard, glossy marks unlike those in any other 
wood. Brown Oak is considered the choicest 
of all the different varieties. It is very hard, 
closely marked, and the best grade, which is 
called the Pollard, is much used for veneers. 
The lighter oaks are often successfully stained 
to imitate Brown Oak. Red Oak is another 
variety which is used often in cabinet work. 
It costs about the same as White Oak, but is 
usually of coarser texture, is more porous, less 
durable, and is often brittle. 

Another wood which years ago was consid- 
ered very common and is now classed among 
the most expensive varieties of furni- 
ture materials is Black Walnut. It 
is of coarse texture, but is heavy, hard, stiff, 
and very strong. The narrow sapwood is 
whitish and the heartwood is chocolate brown. 



FURNITURE WOODS III 

The wood is durable and takes a good polish, 
and is so handsome that it has become the 
favorite cabinet material in this country. Al- 
though, in colonial days, Black Walnut was 
also used as an ordinary building material, 
it has now become so scarce that at the pres- 
ent time it is too expensive for most furniture, 
and is employed largely as a veneer. Be- 
cause of its strength and elasticity walnut 
is especially desirable for gunstocks, and 
the recent demand for the wood for this pur- 
pose both at home and abroad has consider- 
ably reduced the available supply. 

There is a very valuable wood which is used 
as a veneer commonly known as Circassian 

Walnut. It is not a walnut at all, 

Ash 
but is an ash called by the name of 

Hungarian Ash. It is very beautiful, with 

fine markings ranging in color from white to 

a medium shade of brown. When it is used 

as a veneer, poplar is generally the foundation 

wood. The common ash is a very different 

wood. It is light in color, tough and hard, 

with somewhat of a resemblance to oak. As 

a rule there is almost no figure. The beauty 

of the common ash is considered to consist 

mainly in its color, which is unusually light, 



112 INTERIOR DECORATION 

and for this reason it is especially popular for 
bedroom furniture. 

Three other woods which are suitable for 
dainty bedroom furniture are Maple, Beech, 
and Birch. Birch is more beautiful 
Beech,' than ash because of its figuring, 
Birch which is similar in character to the 

figure in mahogany. For this reason it is 
often stained to an excellent imitation of that 
wood. Beech is a similar wood and is often 
also stained to imitate mahogany or rose- 
wood. Furniture of maple rivals that of oak. 
The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and tough, 
and of fine texture. It is frequently wavy- 
grained, giving rise to attractive "curly" 
and "blister" figures of a creamy white, with 
shades of brown toward the heart. 

Although the majority of woods are char- 
acterized by their grain or peculiar figure, Rose- 
wood may be identified by its remark- 
able fragrance. There is probably no 
other wood which is so often imitated and sold 
as the genuine. The color is a dark red or brown 
with strong markings of a much deeper tint. 

Red Gum is a comparatively new wood in 
furniture manufacture. It is a rather heavy 
wood, soft, quite stiff and strong, tough, 



FURNITURE WOODS 113 

commonly cross-grained and of fine texture. 
It is being used in large quantities the past 
few years to take the place of the 
less abundant oak, and is popular 
because of its beautiful grain and because of 
the fine finish which it takes. 

Because of the scarcity of the best woods, 
much of the furniture of the present day is 
veneered. A cheaper grade of wood veneered 
is used for the foundation and the Wood 
surface is covered with a thin layer of more 
expensive wood applied with glue under 
strong pressure. By the use of a veneer rich- 
appearing furniture may be manufactured 
at comparatively small cost, and very beauti- 
ful effects may be obtained by the use of small 
and very rare pieces of timber. Veneering 
also keeps out the dampness from the inner, 
and usually more porous, wood of which the 
furniture is constructed. 

When veneer is employed in preference to 
solid wood for the purpose of reducing the 
cost of production, it is often the 

, r r , Inexpen- 

case that a piece 01 furniture made S i ve ve- 
principally of pine may look as jeered 
handsome as if it were made of solid 
wood of the more expensive kind. For prac- 



114 INTERIOR DECORATION 

tical purposes it is entirely satisfactory and 
provides really good-looking furniture for 
people of moderate means. The practice of 
veneering furniture may be regarded as a 
means of placing beautiful objects within the 
reach of those who could not otherwise afford 
them. If the wood serving as the foundation 
is good and sound, free from knots and cracks, 
and if the veneer is applied with careful work- 
manship, there can be no valid objection to 
work of this class. Of course it should be 
sold for what it is. 

Not all veneered furniture is less expensive 
than the solid, however. A fine veneer is 

more valuable than the solid wood 
Veneered . 

Furniture of which is less beautifully figured. 
High Grade The rarest Frenc h or Italian walnut 

is sometimes veneered on mahogany, as it lasts 
better in this condition than if it were solid, 
and large surfaces and thicknesses of walnut 
are difficult to procure in perfect condition. 
Very precious woods such as ebony or satin 
wood can only be obtained in small quantities, 
and other woods of especially handsome grain 
are cut from roots and excrescences of the trees 
which have produced unusual conditions of 
growth. 



FURNITURE WOODS 115 

In addition to the cost of materials there 
is the labor to be taken into consideration, for 
good veneering requires careful work. xheFoun- 
A valuable veneer is usually laid on Nation Wood 
an expensive wood as a foundation, and this 
unnecessary cost in manufacture adds to the 
price of the finished product. For example, 
a choice Spanish veneer is often applied to 
mahogany of a less beautiful grain. In the 
making of reliable furniture great care is 
taken by the manufacturers in the selection 
of wood which is to be veneered upon to be 
sure of successful results. The foundation 
wood is dry and free from all imperfections. 
Honduras mahogany is considered the best 
wood for the purpose, but Yellow Pine, White- 
wood, and oak are often satisfactorily used. 

Whenever possible, both sides of the ground 
wood are veneered to prevent warping, and the 
veneer used on either side is of the 

- ill The Proper 

same grain and strength, so that the Appiica- 
tension of the one side counteracts £ on of 

Veneer 

the tension of the other. When only 
one side of the foundation wood is veneered, it 
is laid on the heart side, or the side of the wood 
which lies nearest to the center of the tree 
before it is cut. 



Il6 INTERIOR DECORATION 

There are many other facts which should be 
learned before the amateur buyer could hope 
to be able always to detect imitations and 
frauds in the furniture which is offered for 
sale. Even though the purchaser may have a 
certain knowledge of woods, veneers, and con- 
struction, the best safeguard against imposi- 
tion is in the choice of a reliable manufacturer 
and a reputable dealer. Furniture bearing 
the stamp of a well-known firm which is 
carried by a dealer who offers it for sale at a 
fair price is apt to prove to be what it seems. 

REFERENCES 

Hough, R. B. 

American Woods. 
Noyes, William 
Wood and Forest. 
Manual Arts Press. 
Robinson, L. Eugene 
Domestic Architecture. 
The Macmillan Company. 
Snow, C. H. 
The Principal Species of Wood. 
Wiley and Sons. 



CHAPTER X 

THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 

^Esthetic Value — Historical Significance — Period 
Styles — Arrangement of Furniture about Fire- 
place — Materials. 

The history of the fireplace is very closely 
connected with the history of furniture and it 
is hardly possible to study the vari- „ ._ 

1_ £ 1 - 1 Pen ° d 

ous phases or the one without not- styles in 

ing parallel similarities of design Fire P laces 

and construction in the other. Each art 

period had its own characteristics which were 

shown in the design of the furniture and the 

fireplace of that time alike, so they seemed 

harmonious and belonged together. 

To-day we are living in an age in which 

people are trying to select the best points of 

all past art periods and adapt them _. . 

V . T • i i i Replace 

to their own use. It is here that the should 

great danger lies. Many a house- ^House 

holder who has been entirely con- andFur- 

sistent in the selection of furniture ms ngs 

and in the treatment of walls and floors, fails 

117 



Il8 INTERIOR DECORATION 

absolutely in the choice of a suitable chimney 
piece which will accord with the general 
scheme of decoration. Gothic mantels are 
placed in rooms furnished in Adam style, 
Italian hearths are obliged to dwell with 
French furniture, and Renaissance fireplaces 
are set up in modern halls. An utter disre- 
gard is often to be observed in a suitable rela- 
tion between the fireplace and the rest of the 
furnishings of the room. 

The fireplace should first seem a part of 
the architectural plan of the room. It 
should appear to grow out of, or, 
theArchi- rather, into, the wall itself. Fire- 
tecturai places may project into the room, 
or sink into the wall. They may 
have large ornamental hoods or mantels, or 
may be decorated by applying some sort of 
flat ornamentation to the wall space above the 
opening. They may have chimney pieces of 
stone, brick, metal, or wood, but in each and 
every case the lines should follow the lines 
of the wall moldings and should embody in 
structure and design the dominant idea of the 
room. 

No matter how informal the rest of the 
room may be, the fireplace should always pos- 



THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 1 19 

sess great dignity. Any useful object is 
always dignified, to a certain extent, and the 
fireplace is fundamentally useful. 
The first fireplaces stood in the center lg 
of the room and the smoke passed through a 
hole in the roof. It was a thing of use rather 
than of beauty. Since that time every age 
has had its manner of building and naturally 
has developed a certain kind of ornamentation 
which served to emphasize the idea of use. 
The French developed one style of fireplace, 
the Italians developed another, and the Eng- 
lish still another, but each followed the rules 
which governed the period in which it was 
built and at the same time never forgot the 
idea of its functional purpose. 

The idea of use was still uppermost in the 
minds of the first settlers who came to this 
country. The fireplaces built by 
those brave and sturdy men were 
homely, substantial structures, and the spirit 
kindled by the glow from such a hearthstone 
should be preserved by the people of our 
nation as one of the most valuable of the artis- 
tic and aesthetic legacies handed down by the 
Pilgrim Fathers. Some of the older genera- 
tion to-day still treasure as their most sacred 



120 INTERIOR DECORATION 

memory the mental picture of the big country- 
kitchen of their childhood home, with its great 
stone fireplace and oven of bricks. They 
can even yet see the housemother's figure 
moving briskly from fireside to table, tending 
the roasting of the goose or turkey for the 
Thanksgiving dinner and preparing the in- 
variable pumpkin and mince pies. 

The fireplace was the heart of the home in 
those days and in the centuries before. It 
The Center was the necessary feature of the 
of interest house and was always present until 
the time when stoves and, later, furnaces 
were introduced. For many years after that 
time fireplaces were entirely disregarded in 
the average home. They were no longer 
necessary, they were dirty and required a 
great amount of attention, so it was natural 
that the people of a nation which prides itself 
on. a high standard of efficiency and is the 
greatest promotor of labor-saving devices 
should turn their attention away from the 
open fire and rejoice in the more even warmth 
and greater physical comfort of hot-air regis- 
ters and steam radiators. The new houses 
which were built were constructed without 
the large chimneys necessary for fireplaces, 



THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 121 

and the owners of the older houses containing 
fireplaces often boarded up the openings 
into the chimneys and complacently ad- 
justed a permanent fire screen or a huge bowl 
of autumn leaves to fill the space. 

The fact, however, that a lack of a center 
for the room was felt, even in those days of 
low regard for the open fire, was substi- 
shown by the way in which houses tutes 
were often constructed with a mantel in each 
room, even though the chimney were lacking. 
These disfiguring structures seemed to fill the 
place of a dominating interest in the room, 
an object toward which the larger chairs in 
the room could be drawn to give an air of com- 
fort. It was the semblance of the hearth- 
stone, without the care of the real fire, which 
the people wanted, so, as time passed, the 
invention of the gas log was hailed with great 
joy. It was considered a luxury, it is true, 
but it was also a labor-saving device in the way 
of seeming to afford all the pleasure of the old- 
time open fire at no expense of time or labor. 
The insincerity of the gas log did not trouble 
the public conscience in the least, and this 
insincerity was reflected in the cheap, light 
oak or near mahogany mantels which were 



122 INTERIOR DECORATION 

almost universally used with a total disregard 
for the fitness of things. They were elabo- 
rately adorned with much poor machine 
carving and were designed in the fashion of 
the cheaply constructed furniture which was 
turned out in large quantities at that time. 

Those days of deception are happily past in 
the matter of both furniture and fireplaces. 
. „ The people of our nation accord the 

A JNeCGS- t ir* 1 i •• • 

sary old-fashioned fireplace the position in 

Luxury t j ie nouse f a necessary luxury. It 

has again been made the center of interest in 
the living room, at least, and fills its old-time 
station of family altar. It has come back 
into the homes to stay this time probably, for 
the true lover of the open fire will never be 
willing to again give up the companionship 
of the cheerful blaze. He realizes now with 
renewed interest the vital and extensive influ- 
ence which the fireplace has had in the progress 
of civilization. The people of primitive times 
believed fire to be a gift from the gods and 
cherished it as their most precious posses- 
sion. A fire in some one of their meeting 
places was never allowed to go out and was 
considered the token of a connection between 
mankind and the spiritual world. It is natu- 



THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 123 

ral that through the centuries during which 
civilization progressed, much sentiment came 
to be attached to the fire which the savage 
forefathers worshiped, and social customs 
about its friendly glow replaced, in time, the 
ancient superstitious rites. Now it has come 
to mean, to the people of all nations, home, 
physical comfort, and spiritual joy and con- 
solation. It is the token of a universal fellow- 
ship. 

Much can be accomplished in the way of 
extending this feeling of hospitality which 
every open fire gives, by the ar- An^e. 
rangement of the furniture about mentof 

... . Tr 1 • Furniture 

the chimney piece. It the room is about the 
small, the light of the fire should be Fire Piace 
placed with regard to the center of interest 
and the space directly before the fire should be 
kept open so that a person sitting in any part 
of the room might be able to watch the burning 
embers. When the room containing the fire- 
place is quite large, however, there should be 
an entirely different arrangement of furniture. 
An inclosed area should be formed in front of 
the fireplace by placing several pieces of 
furniture of the invitingly comfortable kind 
before it. A large davenport may be placed 



124 INTERIOR DECORATION 

in front of the fire with a heavy chair at either 
side, or a reading table with chairs may serve 
the same purpose. The fireplaces of long ago 
usually had two heavy settles built at right 
angles to the fireplace, one on either side. 
This was doubtless done to shut out the cold 
air of the room and keep in the needed warmth, 
but at the same time the arrangement gave a 
delightful sense of privacy and coziness. For 
this reason settles are sometimes built in houses 
of to-day, or, instead, two long inviting seats 
are often drawn up on either side of the open 
fire, close to the radiating warmth and cheer. 

Book shelves built into the architectural 
structure about the fireplace add much to the 
Book beauty, for the woodwork, if wisely 

Shelves used, will carry out the general 
scheme of the room, and the bindings of the 
books give an interesting note of color. It 
will be found that companionable books will 
have a double lure when they are placed within 
such a sheltered nook. 

There are almost as many materials of which 

it is possible to build the modern fireplace as 

there are styles from which to 
Materials , . . . f . 

choose the design of its construction. 

The style and material of the house itself is 



THE FIREPLACE IN THE HOME 1 25 

of first consideration, for the fireplace must of 
course be in keeping as a part of the architec- 
tural whole. The local environment usually 
helps to decide the choice of material. In 
some parts of the country stone blocks and 
cobblestones are readily accessible at small 
expense. In other parts of the country, 
brick of different types may be very well used, 
and the result is often a fireplace of permanent 
charm. Concrete is often effective, and tiles 
will be found to be both practical and artistic, 
for they can be had in many soft colors, and 
are suitable for the hearth or chimney breast 
or both. Some mantels are made of paneled 
wood and are very dignified reproductions of 
those of the early days. 

Whatever the material used, the greatest 
simplicity of construction should always be 
followed. There should be an en- 
tire absence of elaboration of de- 
tailed ornament and a predominating quality 
of that sincerity which is essential to the true 
home spirit. Fine structural lines combined 
with the gay reflections in the brass andirons 
and the ever changing firelight itself will 
create a place of peace and contentment which 
will not fail to prove a gathering place for the 



126 INTERIOR DECORATION 

family group and for those outsiders who have 
a share of the household hospitality. 

REFERENCES 

French, Lillie Hamilton 
The House Dignified. 

G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, New 
York, 1908. 
Fireplaces, Chapter IX. 
Northend, Mary H. 

Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings. 
Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 191 2. 
Mantelpieces, Chapter VI. 
Polley, G. Henry 
The Architecture, Interiors and Furniture of American 
Colonies. 
George H. Polley & Co., Boston, 191 4. 
Mantels, Plates 3, 5, 7, 13, 20, 21, 22. 

RUMFORD 

Fireplaces and How They are Made. 
William T. Comstode, New York, 1906. 
Construction, Chapter I. 



CHAPTER XI 

ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 

The Importance of Artificial Light as a Part of a Scheme 
of Interior Decoration — A Brief History — Period 
Styles — Arrangement — Colors and Materials of 
Shades. 

In artistic effect the artificial lighting of our 
homes has also kept step with the ups and 
downs in the history of furniture. 
In the eighteenth century and before, 
in that period of furniture making which has 
rightly been named the "golden age," candles 
were the only means of illumination. The 
homes of that time were beautiful with their 
exquisite furniture placed in surroundings of 
the same general style, and lighted at night 
by candles which are without doubt the most 
charming and poetic of all forms of lighting. 
In these houses of our forefathers there was 
in each large room usually one chandelier 
of exceptional beauty designed to hold a 
double row of candles distributed in groups, 
suspending myriads of crystal pendants which 

127 



128 INTERIOR DECORATION 

caught the light and reflected it into the dark- 
est corner. The eye, however, was never 
held by it, for around the room, in well-con- 
sidered places, were brackets holding other 
candles, and on the mantelpiece and tables 
were also numerous candelabra and candle- 
sticks. In this way there was a general dis- 
tribution of illuminating mediums which even 
in their utility formed harmonious and com- 
ponent parts of the room, essential to the 
scheme of decoration and adding symmetry 
and balance to the whole arrangement. At 
the same time each fixture gave individual 
pleasure as a work of artistic design. 

The next phase in the history of our lighting 

medium was the introduction of the oil lamps. 

Sometimes these lamps were beauti- 

Oil Lamps r 1 i • i 

ful and sometimes they were not, 

but the chief interest in them was not in their 
design but in their utility. They gave so 
much better light than candles, it was so much 
easier to read or to sew by their light, that 
they were used with thankfulness as a great 
comfort. The very fact that they were con- 
sidered objects of use rather than objects of 
ornament was conducive to a certain amount 
of beauty, however. The lines of utility are 



ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 1 29 

usually simple and show the structural form, 
and this in itself is a long step toward the 
beautiful. Any object which is severely 
plain, having no decoration at all, is more 
harmonious than the same object ornamented 
in such a way as to conceal its real use. The 
first oil lamps were without shades, but read- 
ing lamps with plain white opaque or green 
shades were soon introduced and generally 
used. At night, when one of these reading 
lamps was placed upon the table it spread 
a circle of light and warmth, a glow of cozy 
friendliness which was akin to the spirit of the 
open hearth fire and rivaled in its charm the 
more aesthetic appeal of the former candle- 
light. 

People were so interested at this time in 
the comfort and efficiency of light that they 
did not seem to realize the value of 
the lamp as conducive to the home- 
like atmosphere, and so welcomed with great 
joy the introduction of gas as a lighting 
medium. Lamps were banished and were 
replaced by blazing gas jets, suspended by 
brass chandeliers from the center of the ceiling 
in each room. The light given by this means 
was usually very poor, and exceedingly hard 



130 INTERIOR DECORATION 

to read or sew by, but it was a great labor- 
saving device and improvement, and no house 
of any importance was considered up to date 
without a gas lighting system. Candles were 
almost completely discarded by this time and 
lamps were found only in the poorest homes 
in the city or in the country where gas was not 
available. Even on the farms the craze for 
gas became so great that acetylene plants were 
introduced, which, though often dangerous 
and inefficient, did seem to be an improvement 
over oil lamps. 

It was, however, not long before the discom- 
fort caused by the glare of the new method of 
lighting came to be felt and an ef- 
fort was made to soften the sharp 
brilliance by opaque globes and silk shades. 
The lack of the reading lamp was felt and gas 
lamps were soon placed where oil lamps had 
formerly been used. The plain shade used 
on most of the oil lamps did not seem appro- 
priate to gas lamps, unfortunately, and this 
led to silly extravagances in the way of silk, 
metal, and glass shades. Good taste was 
abandoned, and a feeling for the appropriate 
apparently did not exist. Flowers, flounces, 
fringes, and beads ornamented the lamps of 



ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 131 

sedate homemakers, placed in rooms other- 
wise furnished in accordance with classic de- 
tail. The gas lamp seemed to be considered 
a separate unit, unrelated to the room in which 
it was placed. 

Fortunately the revival of a desire for the 
more quaint form of lighting fixture has come 
with the introduction of electricity 
into our homes of the present day. 
The renewed interest which we now feel in 
the good period furniture of all time and in 
the best modern designs is reflected in the de- 
sign of artistic lighting fixtures. The study 
of foreign details, and the reproduction of 
period furniture, is giving us saner and more 
artistic methods of working in all crafts, is 
increasing our sensitiveness to the small things 
that make up the whole, and leading us to 
realize the necessity of expending thought 
on all phases of home decoration. Efficiency 
in the matter of quality and quantity of light 
is being carefully considered all of the time, 
but in attaining that end a regard for the 
beautiful and appropriate is also exercised. 

In the evening the artificial lighting fix- 
tures are the most important of all the furnish- 
ings of the room. It is of course a physiological 



132 INTERIOR DECORATION 

fact that the eye is attracted invariably by 
the brightest point of light. If this greatest 
A t . fi . i point of interest is inadequate in 
Light as structural design or in architectural 
Sfetmrt ar rangement, there is a loss of dig- 
in the nity to the whole scheme of dec- 
oration. Some of that careful 
thought and planning which is given to the 
illuminated altar in the church should be 
carried into the home as well. The form, 
color, and design of the lighting fixtures 
should all reflect and be in keeping with the 
general spirit of the room. 

The arrangement of the lights in the room 
is of the greatest importance in the general 
Arrange- effect. Some very large rooms fur- 
ment nished in the formal style of Louis 

XIV, XV, or XVI are suitably lighted by the 
use of chandeliers suspended from the ceil- 
ing. Most of the rooms in modern homes, 
however, are better lighted by side lights and 
by lamps placed in carefully considered places 
about the room. The side lights should be so 
placed that they form a part of the architec- 
tural plan of the room, and should emphasize 
the principal feature of interest. In the liv- 
ing room, for instance, if there is a fine fire- 




Lighting Fixtures May Follow the Styles 
of the Various Types of Period Furniture. 



ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 133 

place, it is most natural to strengthen its 
appeal by the use of lighting fixtures placed 
upon either side. In the dining room the 
buffet seems to become a structural part of 
the room when it is dignified by a pair of 
formal sconces. In the bedrooms the most 
logical place for lights is of course on either 
side of the dressing table. These side lights 
should, of course, be balanced in all rooms by 
other lights, but each illuminated spot should 
have a distinct use and reason for being, other 
than merely giving forth light. 

When lamps are used they should be placed 
with the same strict regard for proper position 
as with side lights. They should al- 

, & j „ . Where 

ways be arranged to call attention to Lamps 

especially attractive pieces of furni- f* h0 p! d 
ture or to decorative groups of furni- 
ture, although they, at the same time, may serve 
the purpose of comfort for reading or sewing. 
In these days of reawakened interest in 
interior decoration, people now deliberately 
plan for an effect by the use of lamps 
which their grandfathers uncon- t hetic 
sciously achieved. The glow of Value of 

the Lamp 

warmth and cheeriness cast by the 
evening lamp gives to the living room at the 



134 INTERIOR DECORATION 

end of the day what the burning logs in the 
fireplace gave in the morning hours — an 
almost spiritual center which attracts, not only 
the members of the family, but the casual 
guest as well. To successfully give this 
effect, the light must be subdued and softened 
to the proper value by the use of truly artistic 
shades. These shades are not the grotesque 
affairs used on the gas lamps of some time ago. 
They no longer look like ornate garden hats 
or flounced petticoats. They are designed to 
fit in with the furnishings of the room in color, 
texture, and style. 

Different rooms and different uses require 
different colors given by the shading of the 
lamps and lights. For reading or 
sewing a soft green is considered by 
many people to be the most restful hue, but 
others can do good work only in a faintly yel- 
low glow. Lights screened by shades in the 
various tones of rose are unquestionably the 
ones best suited to all festive occasions, if 
the color is not too brilliant in intensity. 

Different materials may be used for shades, 

depending upon the decorative style 
Materials . . 

of the room. China silk may be 

shirred on to a wire frame and finished with 



ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 135 

a simple gimp, and decorated silks of the 
heavier variety are also often used stretched 
plain upon the frame. For rooms fitted up 
in mission style a more severe type of shade 
should be used made of Japanese basketry 
or of art glass in single hue and shaded effects. 
Parchment or even heavy water-color paper 
can often be used for the same purpose with 
astonishing success. A small amount of in- 
genuity, only, is needed, to make charming 
shades of all sizes at very little cost, and there 
is almost nothing in the line of household 
furnishings for which merchants ask such 
large prices in proportion to the value of the 
materials used in their construction. 

As with shades, so also a sense of appro- 
priateness should be strictly regarded in the 
choice of lighting fixtures with refer- p . - 
ence to the particular type of furni- styles in 
ture used in the room. A period ixtures 
room should have the lights with their shades 
in the same period of design. In a room 
furnished in the spirit of the period of Louis 
XVI the lighting fixtures should be very 
dainty and graceful. If there are shades, 
they may be very fragile and delicate, 
trimmed with tinsel and garlanded with 



136 INTERIOR DECORATION 

ribbon flowers. Often, however, the most 
beautiful effects are gained without shades, 
when tiny electric bulbs are placed upon the 
tips of candle-like supports. This plan of 
lighting is especially effective for the side 
lights in the dining room, with shaded electric 
candles for the table, and is equally suitable 
for the French, English, and colonial periods, 
although the standards of the fixtures would 
vary with the structural design of the fur- 
niture with which it is used. Jacobean and 
Chippendale should be rather heavy in shape ; 
Hepplewhite, for example, would again call 
for more delicate metal work. Straight-lined 
metal and wood fixtures are now manufac- 
tured to carry out the Craftsman and Mis- 
sion ideas, and even in wicker and grass 
there are lamps to correspond with the fur- 
niture. 

Great care should always be exercised in 
deciding upon the style, color, and arrange- 
Theim- ment of the lights of each room, 
portance of f or ; t j s p OSS ible to make or mar 

Artificial r . . 

Light as a the complete artistic effect of a 

SchemVof nome by tne attention or lack of 

interior attention which has been given to 
Decoration ^ in uminat i ng sys tem. 



ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING 1 37 

REFERENCES 
De Wolfe, Elsie 

The House in Good Taste. 

The Century Company, New York, 191 3. 
Lamps and Sidelights, Chapter VIII. 
Herts, B. Russell 
The Decoration and Furnishing of Apartments. 
G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 191 5. 
Fixtures, Part II, Chapter IX. 
Northend, Mary H. 

Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings. 
Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1912. 
History, Chapter XIII. 
Parsons, Frank Alvah 

Interior Decoration, Its Principles and Practice. 

Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, N. Y., 1 91 5. 
Methods of Lighting, pp. 266-268. 
Wallick, Ekin 

Inexpensive Furnishings in Good Taste. 

Hearst's International Library Co., New York, 191 5. 
Lamps and Lamp Shades, Chapter VII. 



CONCLUSION 

Interior Decoration as Art — How Knowledge of the 
Subject may be Gained — Suitability of Each 
Room and of the House as a Whole to Its Use — 
Sincerity in the Outward Expression of the Owner's 
Personality. 

The practice of interior decoration is in 
reality merely the exercise of common sense 

Interior * n re l at i° n to applied art — a rec- 
Decoration ognition of relative values and a 

strict feeling of proportion. Com- 
mon sense or good judgment can only be 
had, however, with a certain amount of 
experience through which knowledge of the 
subject has been gained. 

People in general do not sufficiently realize 
that some positive knowledge is absolutely 
K d necessary for the making of a suc- 
mustbe cessful plan for the furnishing of 

their own homes. There may be 
some fortunate individuals born, who are 
endowed at the beginning with a compre- 
hension of balance, symmetry, and rhythm, 

138 



CONCLUSION 139 

who instinctively have a feeling for the har- 
monious beautiful, but these especially 
favored beings are few and far between, 
at least among the people of this country. 
Most Americans are not naturally alive to a 
strong feeling for art. There has been no 
place for it in their busy, money-making 
lives, and it is only recently that they have 
awakened to any feeling of lack. So the 
artistic common sense which the Americans 
of to-day exercise must be derived in its 
standards largely from the inherited knowl- 
edge of bygone days when a love of art for 
art's sake was the instinctive possession of 
even the most humble people. 

There are two ways to accumulate these 
inheritances. The first and best is by travel- 
ing, by seeing in the various coun- 

• 1 1 r 11 Travel 

tries the best art treasures 01 all 

ages, in their natural environment. The 

collections in the great museums and in 

some of the best shops in this country are 

certainly worth attention, but they, after 

all, are only collections and can never give 

the inspiration which the occasional object 

of beauty gives in its native setting. The 

average citizen of the United States may see 



140 INTERIOR DECORATION 

nothing in the palaces abroad which he could 
possibly copy in his own home, but he can 
gain general ideas of fundamental lines of 
beauty from them, and turn to the smaller 
chateaux of France and the manor houses 
of England for specific inspiration and for 
ideas in the furnishing of his own home. 
These smaller places exhibit the good taste 
and high standards of the royal mansions 
without that extravagance and lavishness 
which is unsuitable in every way to the 
average modern house. Many people who 
have made a careful study of period furni- 
ture are disappointed in the general effect 
which they have achieved by its use in their 
own homes, but they have made the mistake 
of feeling that beauty depends upon mag- 
nificence and so have copied the furnishings 
for their simple homes from too luxurious 
models. The result is a lack of proportion 
which cannot help but be strikingly bad 
taste. 

The other way of gaining knowledge in 
the art of interior decoration is by the study 
Historical of art in its relation to house fur- 
study nishings, and the effect that the 
history of the world has had upon it. The 



CONCLUSION 141 

underlying reasons for the changes in styles 
of furniture is learned in this way, and so a 
greater interest is felt in each style. When 
it is known that Marie Antoinette was very 
young when she became the bride of Louis 
XVI, that she disliked the court pomp and 
preferred to play as a child at the simple life 
of a shepherdess with a garlanded crook and 
pretty watering pot, it is easy to understand 
that the new royal taste must have had a 
great influence in the transition period from 
the rococo to the classical ideas of decoration. 
When it is known that hoop skirts were uni- 
versally worn in the eighteenth century, it is 
also easy to understand why settees were 
made in such great numbers and why the 
chairs were designed with such wide-spread- 
ing arms. Every style in furniture had its 
relation to cause in, and relation to, some his- 
torical event or influence which produced a 
type of interior decoration well suited to its 
day of creation, but perhaps not at all suited 
to modern use. In this study of the causes 
and effects in the art of house furnishings, 
some of that sense of proportion, of the fit- 
ness of things, may be gained in a most pleas- 
ant manner. 



142 INTERIOR DECORATION 

The persons who have made a parallel 
study of period furniture, decorations, and 
The Proper history will be most apt to link the 
A f d s£r° n interior decoration of their homes 
of Past with the style of architecture used 
En at the time of building. They will 
Use not place mission furniture in a 

colonial house and will not install chande- 
liers of the Louis XVI period in a bungalow. 
Also, if they do furnish their homes with 
the style of furniture which the architecture 
calls for, they will not slavishly copy all the 
modes and mannerisms of another time, 
some of which must be entirely out of key 
with the life and materials of to-day. They 
will realize that not all the creations of the 
past are good, and will be able to pick out 
those qualities which are most beautiful and 
best suited to the present environment. At 
the same time they will do some consistent 
designing in the spirit of the period or pe- 
riods of decoration which they wish to employ, 
keeping in mind the details of historic orna- 
ment in its scale and surface relation, but 
employing their American inventive facul- 
ties in the use of expressive qualities and 
adaptations to accord with modern life. 



CONCLUSION 143 

The function of the house as a whole 
should be carefully considered before the 
furnishings are selected. There is suitability 
nothing more unsuitable than a of the 

, . , . , . House as 

house with a very simple exterior a Whole 
filled with furniture of a luxurious to its Use 
type, and in the same way people should 
adapt their homes to their own mode of life 
or they will not be at home in their environ- 
ment. A house should be neither more nor 
less expensively furnished than the means of the 
householder warrants. The rule of proportion 
applies to the relation between the tenant and 
his home as strictly as to interior decoration. 
As the function of the house as a whole 
must be considered, so must the function of 
each room be carefully determined 
and expressed by the assembling of erationof 
the articles of use and of ornament S 161 ^ 110 " 

uon or 

within it. The use for which it is Each Room 
intended should be kept in view, m hoi c eo f 
and there should be a real under- Fumish- 
standing of its needs. When a room mgs 
conforms to the needs of some person who 
spends many hours within its four walls, it can- 
not help but reflect that person's individuality. 
The successful interior decorator is the one 



144 INTERIOR DECORATION 

who becomes really acquainted with his 

client and in so doing finds out his likes 

and dislikes, his faults and idiosyncrasies, so 

that he can place himself in the mental state 

of his client and provide furnishings which are 

suitable. So the man who is decorating his 

own rooms should purchase for his use only 

those things which he really likes and which 

seem truly useful to himself, but he should be 

guided by the general rules of beauty and 

proportion so that the result shall be pleasing. 

a There are certain essential features, such 

as the background values, the arrangement of 

the furniture to give proper balance, 
Essentials , , . r 1 i i 

and the placing 01 the larger decora- 
tions, which must conform to general rules, 
but personal taste should always be regarded 
in the colors and the objects of chief interest, 
such as the choice of pictures or of the style 
of furniture. 

The room should be the outward expres- 
sion of the spiritual and mental attributes 
The Rooms °f * ts occupant, and this expression 
as the ma y often be given in the most 

Expression . , , . - f 

of Per- simple ways, by a bowl ot favorite 
sonality flowers, by a few pieces of treasured 
pottery, or even by a bird cage hanging in 



CONCLUSION 145 

the sunlit window. Anything which is a 
part of the daily life may be made to fit into 
the whole scheme of decoration, and these 
necessary articles should be used to gain 
desired effects instead of many useless orna- 
ments. With the exception of a very few 
pieces of real beauty, all bric-a-brac should 
be placed upon a high shelf out of sight. In 
fact, a general rule might be formulated to 
eliminate almost all beautiful things, which 
are not distinctly useful in their environment, 
for an object which is not useful is somewhat 
out of place and is therefore lacking in that 
proportion which is one of the elements of 
beauty. 

Each room in a house should express com- 
fort. The colors in the bedrooms should be 
of just the right hue and value, to 
permit rest and sleep, the desks and 
tables for writing should be of a convenient 
height and placed in a good light, and the 
various chairs should be of a shape and size 
adapted to the people who are to use them 
and should be absolutely comfortable. If 
the furniture is at first not well arranged for 
convenient use, the laws of structural arrange- 
ment will be found to be elastic enough for 



146 INTERIOR DECORATION 

a shifting about until each article is in the 
right place to do its own work in the most 
efficient manner. In this way a homelike 
effect is gained which is instantly felt by 
any one who enters the room. It then seems 
at first glance to be a place which is lived in, 
an environment which is conducive to mental 
and spiritual growth and physical comfort. 

Since no two people and no two family 

groups are ever alike, no two real homes 

can have the same atmosphere or 

Sincerity . , . , 

can give the same impressions to the 
people who come into them from without. 
Ideally each home should be the manifes- 
tation of the owners' interpretation of the 
worth-while things of life and should express 
his attitude toward the world by his sincerity 
in the use of details in his scheme of interior 
decoration which shows his true personality. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

Showing the Order of Period Styles from the Beginning 
of the Renaissance to the iqth Century 



ENGLAND 




FRANCE 


Sovereign 


Style 


Remarks 


Style 


Sovereign 


St3 


Henry VIII 
1509-1547 


Tudor 


en 

-a 


■c 

Ph 

1 

m 

"3 

c 
a> 

p5 

-a 
.2 
"3 

a 
W 


About the Duration 

of the Renaissance 

Period in Other 

Countries 


I 
■| 

Ph 
1 

1 

<u 
(A 

A 
% 


Francis 
Premier 


Francis I 
ISI5-I547 


¥ 


Elizabeth 
1 558-1603 


Eliza- 
bethan 


Henri 
Deux 


Henry II 
1547-1559 


h 


James I 
1603-1625 


Jacobean 


Italy 
1443-1564 

Germany 
1525-1620 


Francis II 
1559-1560 


5s 


Charles I 
1625-1649 


in 


CharlesIX 




Commonwealth 
1 649- 1 660 


1560-1574 




Flemish and Dutch 
1520-1634 

Spain and Portugal 
1500-1620 

Other European 
Countries 
1 500-1 630 




** 


Charles H 
1660-1685 


Henry HI 
1574-1589 


2'3 


James II 
1685-1688 


Henri 
Quatre 


Henry IV 
1589-1610 


o v 
ll 


William 

and 

Mary 

1688-1702 


William 
and 
Mary 


Louis 
Treize 


LouisXIII 
1610-1643 




Anne 
1702-1714 


Queen 
Anne 


-a 
.0 
'C 
t> 
Ph 
c 
3 
'5c 

8 




Barocco Styles 

Beginning of the 

Rococo 




Louis 
Quatorze 


LouisXIV 
1643-1715 




George I 
1714-1727 


Chippen- 
dale 

Hepple- 
white 

Adam 
Sheraton 


Chippendale's book, 
" The Gentleman's 
and Cabinetmaker's 
Director," published 
1754, and a later 
edition 1762. 


O 

I 

A 

6 

J 




Louis 
Quinze 


Louis XV 
I7I5-I747 




George II 
1727-1760 


Hepplewhite's book 
"The Cabinetmaker 
and Upholsterer's 
Guide," 1789. 

R. and J. Adam 
1 750-1 790 

Sheraton's book, 
"The Cabinetmaker 
and Upholsterer's 
Drawing Book," was 
published in 1791. A 
later edition in 181 2. 


Louis 
Seize 


LouisXVI 
1747-1793 




George III 
1760-1820 






Empire 


Napoleon 
1793-1814 



Reprinted from How to Know Period Styles in Furniture by W. L. Kimerly, by per- 
mission of The Grand Rapids Furniture Record Co. 



INDEX 



Adam style, 76, 86, 90 
^Esthetic influence of the fire- 
place, 122 
^Esthetic influence of the home, 

S .° 
American furniture, 100-107 

Antique furniture, 61-79 

Antique rugs, 57 

Architectural proportions, 4-13 

Arrangement, 91-93, 145 

Art applied to the home, xx, 77 

Backgrounds, 2 
Balance, 87 

Bedroom furniture, 96-98 
Bisymmetric balance, 87-88 
Black walnut, no-ill 
Blue, 5 

Bookcases, 94-95 
Bric-a-brac, 145 

Cabriole leg, 73 

Carpets, figured, 47 

Carpets, plain, 47 

Carpets versus rugs, 46 

Ceiling, wall, and floor, rule for, 24 

Chair placing, 66 

Chairs, Dutch, 73-74 

Chairs, English, 73-77 

Chairs, Flemish, 68 

Chairs, French, 70-73 

Chairs, Italian, 67 

Chairs, Spanish, 68 

Chimney piece, the, 1 15-125 

Chinese-Chippendale, 74, 76 



Chippendale, work of Thomas, 

* 74-75 . 87 
Classic details, 76 
Classic restoration, 76, 89 
Colonial furniture, 21,68, 91, no, 

in 
Color, 6 

Color and personality, 3 
Colors, cool and warm, 5 
Contrast, 3 

Craftsman furniture, 102 
Curtain hanging, 13-14, 18-19 
Curtain materials, 16, 20-29 
Curtain rods, 18 
Curtains, 12-29 
Curtains, reasons for, 12 

Decoration, interior, xix 
Decorators, amateur, xix 
Decorators, professional, xix 
Dining rooms, 86-88 
Domestic rugs, 38-48 
Doorways, curtains for, 27-29 
Dutch furniture, 73-74 
Dutch influence on Queen Anne 
period, 73 

Education in interior decoration, 

138-141 
Empire furniture, 77-78 
English furniture, 73-77 

Fireplace, the, 1 17-125 
Fixtures, lighting, 131-136 
Flemish furniture, 68 
Floor finishes, 31-37 



149 



15° 



INDEX 



Floor value, 3 1 

Foundation, the floor as decora- 
tive, 31-32, 38-39 
Frames for pictures, 7 
French influence on English furni- 
ture, 77 
French Renaissance, 67-68 
French styles, 70-73 
Furniture arrangement, 81-98, 

100-107, 138-139 
Furniture, Cottage, 105 

Dutch, 73-74 

Empire, 21, 77 

English, 73-77 

Flemish, 68 

French, 70-73 

Italian, 67 

Mission, 101 

Spanish, 68 

Willow, 105 

Gas illumination, 129-130 

Gas-lighting fixtures, 1 30 

Gilded furniture, 71-73 

Gold color, 5-6 

Gothic style, 64 

Grain, the, in woodwork, 111- 

113 

Green, 5 

Halls, 85-86 

Hanging, the, of pictures, 8 

Hangings, 19-29 

window, 19-27 

door, 28-29 
Harmonious forms, 13, 87 
Harmonious tones, 23, 39 
Harmony in decoration, 29 
Hepplewhite style, 34, 75"76, 77, 

90 
History of lighting mediums, 
125-131 



History of period furniture, 61-69 
Home decoration, principles of, 

xx 
Home, definition of, xviii 
Homelike arrangements, 87, 93, 

98, 145, 146 

Ideals of home making, xviii 

Inconsistency, 98 

Individualism in home decora- 
tion, xviii, 92, 98 

Individual's color needs, the, 35 

Interior decorators, xix 

Italian Renaissance, 65 

Italian Renaissance furniture, 66- 
90 

Jacobean furniture, 43, 69, 87 
Japanese prints, 9 
Japanese toweling, 25 

Kitchen floors, 35-36 

Lace curtains, 21 

Lamps and lamp shades, 133-136 

Landlord's alterations, 2 

Library, 93-96 

Light and color, 5 

Lighting the house, 

candles, 127 

electricity, 13 1 

gas, 129 

lamps, 128 
Living rooms, 88-93 
Louis XIV furniture, 70 
Louis XV furniture, 70-71 
Louis XVI furniture, 72-73 

Mahogany, 109 
Materials for curtains, 20-23 
Materials for floors, 31-37 
Materials for hangings, 23-29 



INDEX 



151 



Materials for portieres, 26-28 
Mission style, 100-102 
Modern furniture, 100-107 
Motifs, 

classical, 76 

French, 70-73 

New England furniture, 69, 73- 

78 
New Renaissance in America, 79 

Occult balance, 91 
Oriental rugs, 50-59 

Photographs, 8 
Picture arrangement, 8-9 
Picture frames, 7 
Picture hanging, 10 
Picture selection, 9 
Portrait placing, 8 

Queen Anne furniture, 7, 73 

Renaissance, 65 

Dutch, 68 

English, 69 

Flemish, 68 

French, 6j 

Italian, 65-66 

Spanish, 68 
Restfulness in arrangement, 92- 

93 
Rococo, 72 

Rug color, plain, 42-43 
figured, 43-44 



Rug design, 39-40 
Rug harmony, 39-40 
Rug placing, 41 
Rugs, domestic, 38-40 
oriental, 50-59 

Shades for lamps, 133-135 
Sheraton furniture, 20, 75, 76-77, 

133 
Simplicity in decoration, 104 
Sincerity, 146 
Spanish style, 68 
Straight-line furniture, 100-102, 

104-105 
Structural lines, 101 

Tables, antique, 63, 65-66 
Tapestries, 71 
Tapestry placing, 10 
Temperament and color, 3, 6 
Transitorial mediums, 23 

Upholstery, 27 
Utility and beauty, 143 

Wall, ceiling, and floor, rule for, 24 

Wall color, 56 

Wall decorations, 6-10 

Wall finishes, 6 

Warm colors, 5 

White woodwork, 7 

William and Mary furniture, 6, 

34, 42/90, 145 
Window hangings, 17-27 



Printed in the United States of America. 



l HE following pages contain advertisements of a 
few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects. 



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By LAWRENCE E. ROBINSON 

Assistant Professor of Architecture in Oregon Agricultural College 

Illustrated, i2tno 

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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



Textil 



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By MARY S. WOOLMAN 

Simmons College 
AND 

ELLEN B. McGOWAN 

Teachers College, Columbia University 

428 pages, III., i2mo, $2.00 

A textbook for college classes or study clubs ; a guide 
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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

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THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

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Furniture of the Olden Time 

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Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



m -0 Btf 



